LONDON: CVC Capital Partners co-Chairman Steve Koltes will step down this year as Europe’s biggest buyout firm prepares for a stock market listing that a source familiar with the matter told Reuters could value it at more than 20 billion euros ($22 billion). Koltes, who co-founded CVC in 1993 as a spinout from Citibank, will leave in October “to focus on his private interests,” the firm said in a statement. He will remain on CVC’s board in a non-executive capacity. CVC recently lined up banks to work on an initial public offering (IPO), following in the footsteps of rival funds including Bridgepoint Group and TPG which recently floated after decades in private hands.

In preparation for the IPO, CVC brought in outside capital in September when it sold a stake of roughly 10% to investment firm Blue Owl Capital Inc in a deal that valued the company at 15 billion euros ($16.7 billion).

That valuation could surge beyond 20 billion euros in the upcoming listing, considering the strong market debuts of rival firms, the source said.

CVC is looking to go public in the second half of the year with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley working on the plan. It may opt to float on the London Stock Exchange, although a final decision on the listing venue has yet to be made, the source said.