Bermuda-based MF Global is aiming to raise nearly $4 billion this week in what would be one of the richest initial public offerings in US history.

The brokerage unit of huge hedge fund manager Man Financial, could eclipse the IPO of The Blackstone Group as the richest flotation of 2007.

With 97.38 million shares in the IPO, MF Global will raise nearly $3.7 billion at the midpoint of its estimated price range of $36-$39 a share.

The IPO will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MF, with an expected debut on Friday.

MF Global, a brokerage focused on the derivatives market, also plans to sell $1.2 billion of five- and 10- year notes. Proceeds from the equity sale, scheduled for today, will go to Man Group, which is cutting its stake to 20 percent.

Profit more than tripled to $188 million in the year ended March 31 as revenue more than doubled to $5.7 billion, according to the company's prospectus. MF Global is run by CEO Kevin Davis, 46. He's been head of Man Financial since November 1999 and on the board of Man Group since April 2000.

The stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MF. The sale is being managed by 16 investment banks including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS AG.

Private equity firm The Blackstone Group raised $4.13 billion in its stock market debut on June 25. It was the richest IPO in five years in the US and within the top ten of all time.

If MF Global adds shares to its IPO or prices above its range, its purse could topple The Blackstone Group. Either way, MF Global stands to become the first major IPO of the second half of a lucrative year of the new issues market.

Riding surging commodities markets in energy, metals and currency, MF Financial has grown to become the leading broker of exchange-listed futures and options in the world.

For the three months ended March 31, MF Global ranked first on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and others in the business of handling exchange-traded derivatives.

The UK-based Man Group has wrapped up 17 acquisitions since 1989, including the 2002 purchase of GNI, a leading broker of futures and options, foreign exchange and equity derivatives and subsidiaries of Refco Inc. in 2005.

Companies sold almost $28 billion of stock this year in US IPOs, the most since 2000 when internet shares pushed equity markets to all-time highs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended last week at a record 1552.50. The busiest week for IPOs occurred in June when New York-based Blackstone sold $4.75 billion of shares.

"The IPO market has been strong," said Brian Hamilton, chief executive officer of financial information firm Sageworks Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina. "I don't see much changing until the overall public market goes down."

The Bloomberg IPO Index, which tracks new stocks in their first year, has gained about 16 percent in 2007. The S&P 500 rose 9.3 percent in the same period.

While new offerings have raised 11 percent more than last year, they're still lagging behind 2000. Through July 16 of that year, 207 IPOS amassed $41 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

"There's been a significant depreciation in the quality" of IPOs, Hamilton said, adding that today's market is being driven by private equity and venture-capital companies trying to make money while there are still buyers.

The pace of US offerings trails some international markets. IPOs in Europe, Africa and the Middle East raised $58.2 billion through July 13. That's 37 percent more than last year's $42.5 billion. Asian IPOs pulled in $36 billion, a 6.5 percent decline from last year's $38.4 billion.