(Bloomberg) -- Canadian real estate firm Minto Group Inc. is seeking to raise about C$200 million ($156 million) in an initial public offering expected to be filed in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Ottawa-based company has hired Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal to lead the share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn't public. The company is seeking a valuation of about C$500 million, they said.
Representatives for Toronto-Dominion and Bank of Montreal declined to comment. Minto was not immediately available to comment.
Minto, established in 1955, specializes in home building, construction, property and investment management in Canada and the southern U.S., according to its website. It has built more than 85,000 new homes, manages 13,000 multi-residential units and owns 2.7 million square feet of commercial space. Its investment management portfolio has C$2.9 billion in assets.
Canada's housing market has cooled in recent months but the rental market is heating up especially in Toronto where the economy has boomed and immigration has been strong.
BSR Real Estate Investment Trust, an owner of apartment communities in the southern U.S., has also filed for a Canadian IPO and plans to raise about $135 million.
CoStar Group Inc. first reported the company was weighing an IPO.
--With assistance from Natalie Wong
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Thorpe
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