PARIS: Icade Sante, the healthcare property business of French real estate firm Icade, said on Friday it plans to raise 800 million euros in a share listing to part-finance a 3 billion euro expansion across Europe and into medicalised care. Icade Sante made the announcement as stock market watchdog AMF approved its registration document, the first step towards the planned initial public offering (IPO) which should kick off in the coming weeks.

The company declined to comment on the potential full valuation of the firm, although based on the amount to be raised and according to sources familiar with the market, its value could be over 4 billion euros ($4.74 billion).

"We want to be the leader in our asset class and we need to truly be in Europe for that," Xavier Cheval, Icade Sante's deputy chief executive, told reporters.

Some 60% of the 3 billion euros to be invested by 2025 will finance growth overseas, including to beef up Icade Sante's positions in markets it has already expanded into, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, he said.

Cheval, who is set to become CEO of the business, added that the firm did not rule out investments elsewhere too, including the Netherlands, Belgium or Portugal.

Three quarters of Icade Sante's healthcare properties are private hospitals, but the group also plans to invest more in medicalised care homes, which should eventually make up a third of its assets, Cheval said.

Icade Sante has 6 billion euros worth of assets today, mostly in France.

BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, JP Morgan and Societe Generale will be global coordinators of the IPO. Cheval said he expected further consolidation among private hospitals and care home property investors in Europe, another reason for opting for an IPO.