Travelport, the travel services group owned by US private equity house The Blackstone Group, has mandated five banks for its 1.4bn ($2bn) initial public offering, the Financial News reports.
UBS, Citigroup and Credit Suisse are joint global co-ordinaters, while investment banks Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are joint bookrunners.
The initial public offering, expected in the first quarter next year, will be potentially the biggest listing of a US company in the UK by a private equity firm.
Blackstone could quadruple its $900m (614m) equity investment in the business after less than two years of ownership, following a dividend recapitalization completed in March before the credit markets soured and the listing of part of the companys online booking subsidiary in July. Blackstone and partner Technology Crossover Ventures acquired Travelport from US conglomerate Cendant for $4.3 billion last year.
The private equity group might be hoping for a better result from Travelport than its online subsidiary Orbitz.com, which it floated six months ago. Blackstone listed the business to raise $510 million less than six months after taking Travelport private.
Orbitz.com shares priced at $15, below an expected range of $16 to $18. Shares of Orbitz.com were down at $9.47 last Friday.
The choice of the London market for the flotation of a US business is rare, according to data provider Dealogic.
It said only two US companies had listed on the London Stock Exchange this year, the same number as last year.