Private Equity Firms Look to Take Cos Public

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Efforts by private equity firms to sell stakes in portfolio companies through initial public offerings continued late this week as two North American companies took steps toward coming to market.

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp, controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP , on Friday set terms for its planned $849.3 million IPO, signaling it was likely to price it within weeks. The company is based in North Carolina.

Dollarama Inc, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, filed late on Thursday for an initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The retailer is based in Montreal, Canada.

A source close to the Dollarama deal said the IPO would raise some C$300 million ($278 million) and that underwriters hoped to close the offering by mid-October.

The prospective deals are the latest in a string of private equity backed IPO filings in North America, as buyout firms look to take advantage of improved markets to exit investments.

U.S. retailer Dollar General Corp, backed by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co , said in August it was looking to raise up to $750 million in an IPO.

Other deals in the pipeline include a prospective $1.15 billion IPO by independent oil exploration company Cobalt International Energy Inc, whose owners include Riverstone Holdings LLC and The Carlyle Group .