ZURICH, March 13 (Reuters) - Skincare company Galderma

was on course to raise 2.3 billion ($2.6 billion) Swiss francs

from its upcoming initial public (IPO) offering after a positive

response from potential investors.

The company, whose products includes Cetaphil, a product for

damaged and sensitive skin, as well as fillers and skin creams,

early on Wednesday announced a price range of 49 to 53 Swiss

francs for its flotation - likely to be one of the biggest in

Europe this year.

The offering has had a positive response, with one of the

bookrunners saying it been covered across the price range.

The offering consists of up to 40.5 million new shares and

277,000 existing shares, the company said. The offer period will

run from Wednesday and is anticipated to end on March 20, 2024.

There is also over-allotment option of up to 6.1 million

existing shares, the Swiss company said, which if fully

exercised will lead to an offer size of 2.3 billion Swiss

francs.

The Swiss company originally announced its initial public

offering last week and said proceeds will be used to pay down

debt.

Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov said last week there had

been significant interest in the flotation of the company, the

main owners of which include Swedish private equity company EQT

, Singapore's GIC and the Abu Dhabi Investment

Authority (ADIA).

All three are expected to remain invested in the company,

which is likely to have an enterprise value - equity plus debt -

of around $17 billion, as previously reported.

A final offer price will be published on March 21, Galderma

said.

The company said it expected to complete its listing and

start trading in Switzerland on Friday, March 22. It will be

included on the Swiss Performance Index from Monday, March 25,

its second trading day.

($1 = 0.8776 Swiss francs)