Moneysupermarket eyes 1 billion pound price tag

LONDON (Reuters) - Price comparison Web site Moneysupermarket.com has set an indicative price range of 170 pence to 210 pence for its listing this month, putting its expected value at up to just over 1 billion pounds.

Moneysupermarket.com, which expects dealing in its shares to start on or around July 31, said on Wednesday it aims to raise 180 million pounds, which it will use pay down debt and fund its fast-paced growth.

At the midpoint of Wednesday's range, the offer would be worth around 388 million pounds, representing 204 million shares or around 41 percent of the share capital.

Moneysupermarket.com, which helps consumers compare mortgage rates, car prices and travel packages, is set to be Britain's biggest technology listing for almost seven years.

The float is also being closely watched by rivals including insurer Admiral ADM.L, which said in May it had received approaches for its insurance-premium comparison website Confused.com and was reviewing its options.

Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com have been long been leaders in the sector but analysts say a raft of new entrants in the comparison space, including gocompare.com -- set up by former Confused.com employees -- and retailer Tesco's (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) planned tescocompare.com, could shake up the market.

Moneysupermarket.com gets revenue from banks, airlines and other providers when its price-comparison site directs a user to the provider's site for them to make a booking. It also gets advertising income.

Chief Executive Simon Nixon, who founded the business 14 years ago and owns a majority stake of over 80 percent after buying out his estranged co-founder in June, expects to sell 60.3 million shares and has also granted Credit Suisse an over-allotment option which may result in the sale of up to 30.6 million additional shares.

Senior managers and current and former employees are selling a further 26.5 million shares, but Nixon and his top staff will still control the group after the IPO.