Elior, a French catering and support services provider, said on Wednesday that it was considering an initial public offering this summer.
The company filed documents with France’s market watchdog, the Financial Markets Authority, in the first step toward a public offering.
The company is Europe’s third-largest caterer behind the Sodexo Group of France and the Compass Group of Britain.
Elior is considering offering 30 to 35 percent of its capital in an I.P.O. and expects to raise up to 750 million euros, or slightly more than $1 billion, according to a person briefed on the matter.
“The I.P.O. opens a new chapter in our history of strategic and entrepreneurial development,†Gilles Petit, the chief executive of Elior, said in a statement. “It supports our ambitions to continue enhancing our services to clients and relationships with partners. It also enables us to pursue our strategy of profitable growth including the consolidation of our leadership positions.â€
Elior, founded in 1991, employs about 105,000 people and provides catering services in 13 countries, with more than half of its revenue coming from France. The company posted pro forma revenue of €5.22 billion in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2013.
Elior was acquired by the private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners in 2006 and would be the latest European company backed by private equity to seek to go public this year.
