Nielsen raises initial public offering target to $2bn

The firm’s private equity owners – Alpinvest, Blackstone, Carlyle, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Thomas H. Lee – now plan to raise $2bn, compared to the target sum of $1.75bn they announced in June.

Funds will be used to pay down debts and secured loans.

The latest documents still do not provide information about how many shares will be offered or what their starting price will be, but they did reveal that the firm will trade under the NLSN symbol when the IPO has been completed.

Nielsen, which is headed by David Calhoun (pictured), posted a 7% rise in revenue for the second quarter of 2010 when it reported its results last month.

The consumer and media research firm was acquired by the private equity consortium in 2006 in a deal worth around $10bn, at which time it was known as VNU.