Caribbean telecom company Digicel to raise up to $2 bln from IPO

(Reuters) - Digicel Group Ltd, the Caribbean telecommunications company that sponsors sprinter Usain Bolt and the West Indies cricket team, is set to raise as much as $2 billion from its initial public offering in the United States.

Digicel said on Tuesday the IPO is expected to be priced between $13 and $16 per share, valuing the company at just over $5 billion at the top end of the range.

The company, founded by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, said it would sell 124.1 million Class A shares in the IPO. (1.usa.gov/1G09nT6)

O'Brien will continue to own all of Digicel's Class B shares and control about 94 percent of the voting power after the offering.

O'Brien, one of Ireland's most powerful press barons, owns the Irish Independent, the country's most circulated newspaper.

He also owns four other national newspapers, 13 regional newspapers and two major national radio stations through media group Independent News and Media.

O'Brien set up Esat Telecom in 1990 before being drawn into a 14-year public inquiry over his purchase of an Irish mobile phone license in the 1990s.

He later sold Esat Telecom before launching Digicel in Jamaica in 2001.

Digicel provides wireless services to 13.6 million subscribers in 31 markets in the Caribbean and South Pacific regions, according to a recent filing.

The company also offers communication services to businesses and governments, and cable TV and broadband services.

It reported a loss of $157.6 million on revenue of $2.79 billion for the year ended March 31, compared with a profit of $43.5 million on revenue of $2.75 billion a year earlier.

Digicel plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "DCEL".