Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS) Among Banks Battling to Underwrite Ivanplats IPO

Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are among several banks reportedly battling it out to underwrite the upcoming IPO of Ivanplats.

Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Ltd., the mining company known as Ivanplats, plans to go public this year in an offering that could raise between $750 million and $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

In recent weeks, Ivanplats has been interviewing various banks for the initial public offering of stock, which could value the company at more than $5 billion, although the current valuation could change based on copper prices, political stability and the development of actual mines, these people said. Robert Friedland, the chief executive of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., is a controlling shareholder of Ivanplats, with a stake of about 30%. Institutional investors own the rest of Ivanplats. Ivanhoe, which owns 8% of Ivanplats, is also considering its own sale or breakup.

Ivanplats's mineral holdings include a nickel, platinum and copper deposit in South Africa as well as a copper and cobalt discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company, which has offices in South Africa and Canada, has explored going public in the past, most recently in 2007. But it held off because of the global economic slump.

Now, with commodity prices on the upswing and high demand for raw materials from developing countries, Ivanplats stands to benefit from a public offering, the people familiar with the matter said. A Wednesday mining-industry report by Ernst & Young said 2011 will be marked by a flurry of IPOs, driven by pent-up demand for public equity and the desire to provide "shareholder exposure to strong commodity prices."





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