New Zealand’s third largest operator 2Degrees Mobile is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Securities Exchange to raise funds to expand its network.

The IPO is expected to generate NZD100 million to NZD150 million ($68 million to $102 million), which it needs to complete its network expansion. In areas where it lacks cellular coverage, it has a roaming agreement with Vodafone New Zealand.

2Degrees has a 23 per cent market share, trailing market leader Vodafone (40 per cent) and Spark (37 per cent), according to GSMA Intelligence. It has 1.36 million mobile connections, with its 4G customer base more than doubling over the past 12 months to 411,000.

The operator is 58 per cent owned by US-based Trilogy International, which likely wants to reduce its investment, The Australian reported. London-based Communication Venture has a 27 per cent share, while Te Huarahi Tika Trust has a 10 per cent interest and HLR Hong Kong holds the remainder.

A number of banks, including Credit Suisse-First New Zealand Capital, Deutsche Craigs, Macquarie Capital and UBS, reportedly made pitches last month to manage the IPO.

The Australian said the operator is also looking to list on the New Zealand exchange.