Nielsen Files for $1.75 Billion Public Offering

Nielsen has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $1.75bn in an initial public offering (IPO), which it will use to pay down debt and for 'general corporate purposes'.

Nielsen kicked off the process to go public in April, four years after it was acquired by a group of buyout firms led by Thomas H.Lee Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, for $10.2bn.

The firm did not disclose what percentage of the company will be offered to the public, or what the price of the stock will be.

J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters for the Nielsen offering, with support from Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

In its prospectus, Nielsen said it had revenues of $4.8bn last year, with a net loss of $489m - down about $100m on the previous year.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .