The country's largest independent competitive power generator, NRG Energy (NRG 1.56%), announced today it had commenced with the IPO of its wholly owned subsidiary, NRG Yield. The purpose of the offering is to create a unit to acquire cogeneration assets.

NRG Yield is offering almost 19.6 million shares of its Class A shares to the public, along with a 30-day option for the underwriters to purchase an additional 2.9 million shares. The IPO is expected to be priced between $19 a share and $21 a share and the new company anticipates trading on the NYSE under the symbol NYLD.

In a preliminary registration statement filed last month, NRG Energy said it will own all of Yield's Class B stock, making it a "controlled company," which will give it special influence over the newly public company's operations as well as who runs it and how they're compensated. It will also sell to Yield various gas-fired power plants, as well as certain solar and wind energy assets that will be purchased with funds provided by the IPO.

Joint book runners for the IPO include Bank of America's Merrill Lynch division, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup. The co-managers include BarclaysKeyBanc's Capital Markets unit, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Royal Bank of Canada's Capital Markets division, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank's Securities outfit.

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