Seabras Servicos de Petroleo S.A., the Brazilian unit of Norwegian oil-and-gas equipment company SeaDrill Ltd. (SDRL), said Monday it plans to raise between 960 million and BRL1.25 billion Brazilian reais ($545 million-$709 million) through an initial public offering on the Brazilian Stock Exchange, or BMFBovespa.

The company plans to offer 48 million common shares priced in an expected range of BRL20.00 to BRL26.00. Trading is expected to begin Feb. 13. The company can offer extra shares if there is demand.

Seabras will sell its shares in Brazil and to qualified investors in the U.S. Investors can reserve shares from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8.

The IPO will be the first offering in Brazil this year. Last year, ten companies held IPOs on BMFBovespa.

BTG Pactual is the lead coordinator.

SeaDrill said it plans to list shares of its Brazilian subsidiary through the Novo Mercado mechanism which has the most rigorous listing rules on the exchange. To qualify, a company must sell a minimum stake of 25%, and all its shares must be common rather than preferred stock.

The company's shares will trade under the ticker symbol SEAB3.BR.

Brazil's rising prominence in the global oil industry has attracted a series of oil and gas companies to the local stock market. Companies such as QGEP Participacoes SA (QGEP3.BR) and OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA (OGXPY), among others, have held IPOs in Brazil.

Source: Fox Business