WASHINGTON (Reuters) Bermuda-registered Max Re Capital Ltd., which provides reinsurance for life and annuity and property and casualty insurance markets, yesterday filed to go public.

The Bermuda company said in a prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the initial public offering could raise as much as $200 million.

The IPO will involve common stock but the company did not say how many shares it plans to issue or an estimated share price. These details can be expected in later filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company said it plans to use the money from the IPO to increase capital for its principal reinsurance subsidiary Max Re.

Max Re Capital, founded by former XL Capital senior executive Robert Cooney, is backed by US financial giant Citigroup Inc. , which holds a 5.8 percent stake with 1.7 million shares.

The lead underwriters managing the offering are Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney. They will be assisted by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Banc of America Securities LLC.

It is seeking to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol "MXRE" .The $200 million figure cited in the filing was done merely to calculate the SEC registration fee.