(Reuters) -Private equity-backed Jefferson Capital said on Friday it was targeting a valuation of up to $1.1 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, as buyout firms look to take advantage of an improving new listings market.

The company and some of its investors are seeking to raise up to $170 million by offering 10 million shares priced between $15 and $17 each, in what would be a rare flotation from the debt buyer industry.

Mounting pressure on financial sponsors to return money to investors is encouraging buyout firms to list their portfolio companies. A winning streak for latest U.S. stock market entrants has also boosted the IPO market, particularly for tariff-insulated companies.

Jefferson is offering 625,000 shares in the IPO, while selling stockholders, including J.C. Flowers, are putting up about 9.4 million shares.

Founded in 2002, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company purchases and manages charged-off and bankruptcy receivables with operations mainly in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Latin America.

It expanded into Canada with the acquisition of debt buyer Canaccede Financial Group in 2020.

The company had net income of $128.9 million and revenue of $433.3 million in 2024, up 15.6% and 34.1%, respectively, over the year earlier.

Jefferson competes against PRA Group, Encore Capital Group, Resurgent Capital Services and Cavalry Portfolio Services in its core U.S. market.

Investment firm J.C. Flowers had acquired Jefferson from buyout firm Flexpoint Ford in 2018.

Jefferson will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol "JCAP". Jefferies and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods are the lead underwriters for the offering.

J.C. Flowers will own about 68.9% of Jefferson after the offering.