French e-commerce giant Cnova files for an estimated $1 billion US IPO

Cnova, which operates the e-commerce business of French retail giant Casino, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, although the deal size is likely a placeholder. We estimate it could raise $1 billion. Its parent, Casino, is publicly traded on the Paris Stock Exchange. It is the third international e-commerce company with over $3 billion in annual sales to file for a US IPO, following JD.com (JD) and Alibaba (ALIBA.RC).

The Bordeaux, France-based company, which was founded in 1998 and booked $3.9 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, plans to list under the symbol CNV. Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.