Sep. 12--Talecris Biotherapeutics is preparing to move ahead with one of the largest initial public offerings of stock ever by a Triangle company.

The biotechnology company plans to sell 44.7 million shares at $18 to $20 each, according to a regulatory filing submitted late Thursday. At those terms, which could change before the final deal, the company would raise as much as $894 million before expenses.

By filing those details with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Talecris is taking a crucial step to revive its long-delayed IPO. Company officials still must persuade big Wall Street investors to buy its shares and win SEC approval for the deal.

"They don't put pricing terms out there unless they're ready to put it on the calendar," said John E. Fitzgibbon, owner and publisher of IPOScoop.com, a New Jersey research firm.

The IPO would be a financial boost for Talecris' owners, and any employees who hold stock options. The company employs about 4,700 worldwide, including more than 2,000 at its Research Triangle Park headquarters and at a massive Clayton plant that makes medicines from blood plasma.

Talecris first filed for an IPO in June 2007 but scrapped that plan after it agreed to be bought by an Australian company for $3.1 billion. That acquisition was called off in June after U.S. anti trust regulators sued to block it.

One big downside to the Plan B: The IPO will require the company's owners and employees to navigate Wall Street's risky waters to cash in their holdings. The canceled acquisition would have brought them more money and an immediate return.

And a successful IPO from Talecris would be an unusual event these days. So far this year, only 21 U.S. companies have gone public, according to Renaissance Capital, an IPO research firm in Greenwich, Conn. That's half the volume of last year.

But the stock-market rally since March is rekindling investor interest in IPOs. That's especially true for a company such as Talecris, which has real products, revenue and profit, Fitz gibbon said.

In addition to making drugs from blood plasma, Talecris owns a chain of 69 blood-plasma collection centers across the country.

"This isn't a flaky, let's-put-it-up-on-the-board-and-hope-it-goes company," he said. "We're in the market for quality."

In its SEC filing, Talecris reported revenue of $747.4 million during the first six months of this year. That's up 20 percent from the same period last year.

Profit rose to $116.7 million, up from $19 million a year earlier. The latest profit included a $75 million termination fee from CSL Ltd. of Australia, after the companies' union was canceled.

An IPO also would end a drought for private Triangle companies seeking Wall Street attention. The last IPO for a local company was the Raleigh investment firm Triangle Capital in February 2007. Before that, Chapel Hill insurer James River went public in August 2005.

Fitzgibbon expects the IPO will happen in coming weeks, assuming the stock market doesn't crash again. Talecris' underwriters for the deal include some Wall Street heavy hitters: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citi and J.P. Morgan.

There are risks the company's future investors will face. Talecris, for example, will use most of the IPO money raised to repay debt, rather than to invest in new business or research.

And the company faces increasing competition in the market for blood-plasma drugs, including from Australia's CSL.

Talecris spokeswoman Becky Levine said Friday that because of SEC rules restricting public comments during a pending IPO, company officials would not be able to discuss the offering at this time.

alan.wolf@newsobserver .com or 919-829-4572

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