Bermuda-based TyCom Limited, a leading supplier of undersea fibre optic networks and services, is moving to raise as much as $1 billion with an initial stock sale.

The wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Tyco International Limited has designed, engineered, manufactured and installed more than 350,000 kilometres of undersea cable.

It has not disclosed how many shares of common stock it plans to sell in the initial public offering or the planned offering price but those details are expected in future filings.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to deploy the first phase of its own worldwide undersea telecommunications fibre optic cable system, named TyCom Global Network, and to pay a dividend to TGN Holdings Limited, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Tyco.

TyCom said the network will likely be deployed in stages over the next ten years and expects it would span 250,000 kilometres and serve six continents.

Among past customers, who have bought about 192,000 kilometres of undersea fibre optic cable systems valued at more than $8 billion since 1988, are telecommunications giants spanning the globe, including AT&T Corp , British Telecommunications Plc and Telekom South Africa.

TyCom had $629.2 million in net revenue and $63 million in net income during the quarter ended December 31, and $1.63 billion in revenue and $163 million in net income during the 1999 fiscal year that ended September 30.

The company said it does not plan to pay dividends in the foreseeable future and will use its earnings for operating its business and fund future growth.

As part of the restructuring as TyCom moves partially out, Tyco said it would cause the operating entities of TyCom to declare dividends to Tyco totalling up to $600 million.

After the offering, Tyco will hold a stake in TyCom although the filing did not reveal how large.

Previously, Tyco has said it would sell up to 20 percent of the subsidiary to the public.

It has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TCM once it goes public.