Yell aims for $3 billion float

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Yell, Britain's biggest phone directory publisher, plans to raise more than £1 billion ($1.5 billion) from a stock market floatation.

The company, which publishes Yellow Book in the United States, said it would receive as much as £750 million, while its owners -- equity firms Hicks Muse Tate & Furst and Apax Partners, would get about £300 million.

Money raised through the sale of stock to investment banks, pension funds and other financial institutions, will be used to repay debt. The stock market listing in London will rank as one of the biggest in Europe this year.

Yell, owner of the Yellow Pages and Talking Pages directories, was bought from BT Group (BT-) last June for £2.1 billion by private equity investors Hicks Muse Tate & Furst of the U.S. and Apax Partners. They used about £550 million of their own money and borrowed the rest.

It joins a nervous and growing stream of companies floating on the stock market. Pubs group Punch listed on the London Stock Exchange last month but had to cut its offer price after investors baulked at the price amid uncertainty for global economic growth and flagging stocks markets.

Yell "looks forward to putting its business case to investors,'' Chief Executive John Condron said last month. "The share offer will strengthen our ability to make selective bolt-on acquisitions and give us access to equity markets, thereby increasing our strategic flexibility.''

Yell said its stock could be priced in the range of 270 pence to 345 pence per share, valuing the company at £1.8 billion to £2.3 billion ($3 billion). It shares are expected to list on or about July 3.

At the mid-point of the price range, it would be close to entering the FTSE 100 index of blue chip stocks.