Staffing firm TeamLease Services has filed draft papers with capital market regulator SEBI to raise an estimated Rs 450—500 crore through an initial public offer.

The IPO comprises fresh issue of shares worth Rs 150 crore and an offer for sale of up to 32.2 lakh shares by existing shareholders, as per the draft red herring prospectus.

The existing investors include Gaja Capital, India Advantage, HR Offshoring Ventures and GPE (India).

A total of 10,000 shares have been reserved for the company’s employees.

According to sources, the company is expected to garner Rs 450-500 crore through the IPO.

TeamLease Services, which was established in 2002 with four offices, 20 clients and 40 employees, is now India’s largest and foremost people supply chain company with 8 regional offices and 1,200 core employees, according to the company’s website.

It started with temporary staffing and then added permanent recruitment in 2004.

It offers the following services — temporary staffing, permanent recruitment, regulatory compliance, payroll processing and learning services.

The procceds of the IPO would be used for acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, upgradation of the existing IT infrastructure, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.

The shares of the company are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

The issue is being managed by IDFC Securities, ICICI Securities and Credit Suisse Securities (India) Pvt.

After a prolonged lull, the IPO space has become very active, and over 30 companies have lined up plans to raise funds totaling about Rs 20,000 crore through public offers, which include Cafe Coffee Day, Matrix Cellular and GVK Airport.

More than 26 firms have already got the go-ahead from market regulator SEBI so far this year to launch their respective IPOs while draft IPO papers of some firms are currently “under process” and may be cleared soon.

In addition, 15 firms have already tapped the route to raise funds.