Warburg Pincus-backed Fortegra aims for up to $1.52 billion valuation in US IPO

(Reuters) - Fortegra Group, backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, is targeting a valuation of up to $1.52 billion as it prepares for its initial public offering in New York, the specialty insurance company said on Monday.

The company plans to sell 18 million shares, priced between $15 and $18 apiece, and raise about $324 million at the top end, as per a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The IPO market is looking to stage a rebound as bets of a soft landing firm up, after an arid two-year spell when economic uncertainty and high-interest rates dried up investors' appetite for new listings.

However, recent new listings, including that of healthcare firm BrightSpring and Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund, signaled that caution among investors is still there and that might hurt the IPO market's recovery hopes.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Fortegra Group plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "TFG".

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Jefferies and Barclays are the lead underwriters for the IPO.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)