Ireland's C&C Group readies IPO.

Byline: Jonathan Braude in London

Irish drinks and snack foods company C&C Group plc said Monday, April 26, it plans an IPO in London and Dublin, which a source said is expected to deliver a market capitalization of [Euro]800 million to [Euro]900 million ($946 million to $1.06 billion).

The listing, which could come as early as the beginning of June, will mark at least a partial exit for BC Partners Ltd., the London-based private equity group that has owned the Dublin company since its acquisition from British wines and spirits maker Allied Domecq plc. The January 1999 buyout valued the business, then called Cantrell & Cochrane Ltd., at [Euro]835 million.

BC Partners, which was forced to withdraw plans for an IPO in the summer of 2002, plans to reduce its 90%-plus stake in …