CFAO starts marketing 1 bln eur Paris IPO -sources

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - French retail and luxury group PPR (PRTP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) has started meeting investors for a 1 billion euro ($1.5 billion) initial public offering of its CFAO unit in Paris, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

PPR plans to offer at least 50 percent of its stake in CFAO, which focus on automotive and pharmacy distribution in Africa, the people said, valuing CFAO at about 2 billion euros.

The IPO, which would be one of the top listings in Europe this year, comes on the heels of flotations of Poland's PGE and Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd (DLL.AS: Quote, Profile, Research), which raised $2.2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively.

PPR, which owns brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, said in October it expected to sell a majority stake in CFAO in by the end of the year. [ID:nL7519141]

BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Calyon, Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are the bookrunners. (Reporting by Daisy Ku)