(Bloomberg) -- Bounty Agro Ventures Inc., a Philippine poultry firm, is exploring an initial public offering in Manila that could raise $400 million to $500 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company is having discussions with potential advisers on the planned listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. A first-time share sale could take place as early as the end of this year, the people said.

Deliberations are at an early stage and Bounty could still opt not to proceed with the offering, said the people. A representative for Bounty didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Should Bounty go ahead with the IPO, it would give a boost to the Philippines’ IPO market, which hosted only $389 million worth of first-time share sales last year, a fraction of the $2.5 billion raised in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Bounty Agro Ventures traces its roots to 1986 as an egg producer, according to its “sister company” Bounty Fresh Foods Inc.’s website. Bounty Agro Ventures was founded in 1997 and has grown into the largest rotisserie chicken company in the Philippines, its website shows.

It has almost 2,000 retail outlets selling roasted chickens and chicken burgers through brands such as Chooks-to-Go, Uling Roasters and HeiHei. The company sells 100,000 roasted chickens every day. It also distributes dressed chicken products in supermarkets, hotels and others under the Bounty Fresh Chicken brand.

--With assistance from Cecilia Yap and Ditas Lopez.

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