Sovereign is seeking to raise between $27 million and $30 million from the public through a sharemarket listing.
The company registered a prospectus for the sale of 12 million new shares and 10 million shares already held by founders Chris Coon and Ian Hendry, and United States investor Grantham Mayo van Otterloo.
Following the sale Coon and Hendry will be left owning 22.1 per cent of the company.
An issue price of 225c to 250c a share is to be set in an international tender closing on March 23.
The public offer closes on March 19 and three million shares have been reserved for 7000 Sovereign policyholders.
Sovereign has gained the backing of two United States- based specialty investors Eldon Capital and Firemark Group. These two firms are committed to take $15 million in new shares at 225c each ahead of the issue.
The money raised in the float is to be used for future expansion.
Sovereign is forecasting a march 1998 year profit of 411.1 million.
Sovereign is seeking to raise between $27 million and $30 million from the public through a sharemarket listing.