TORONTO/NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Private equity-backed Canadian waste management company GFL Environmental Inc is seeking to raise as much as C$1 billion ($778 million) in an initial public offering that could be filed as early as the first quarter, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.
The company is interviewing Canadian and international investment banks to pick underwriters, the people said, declining to be named as the matter is not public.
A C$1 billion IPO would be the biggest Canadian listing since Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Canada Ltd KML.TO raised C$1.7 billion early this year, and would value GFL at nearly C$5 billion, the people said.
The IPO would provide an exit for investors including U.S. private equity firm HPS Investment Partners LLC and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III, a fund linked to a unit of Australian financial services firm Macquarie Group MQG.AX .
While an IPO is one of several ways to unlock value, no decision has been made to proceed with an offering, GFL General Counsel Joy Grahek said.
HPS and Macquarie declined to comment.
($1 = 1.2854 Canadian dollars)