By Gillian Tan 

Ares Management LP plans to offer 18.2 million shares in its initial public offering, with the expectation that shares will price in a range of $21 to $23, according to a filing Tuesday.

The firm estimates the net proceeds from the offering will be about $237.5 million.

Ares said it is looking to raise up to $481.3 million in the offering, which was disclosed in a filing late last month. It intends to use the proceeds to repay debt and fund growth, among other things.

Ares, which has assets under management of about $74 billion, was spun out of Apollo Global Management LLC in 1997. The Los Angeles-based firm's four key business lines--tradable credit, direct lending, private equity and real estate--have helped it grow assets under management at a compound annual growth rate of 31% over the past 10 years, the company has said.

Ares's market value could be as high as $4.86 billion if the IPO is priced at the top end of the range and if all outstanding Ares Operating Group units are exchanged for units in the listed company.

The bulk of the company's earnings come from management fees from its more than 140 active funds. The firm posted economic net income of $430.9 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013, down from $472.5 million in the prior year.

The firm itself will be seeking to sell about 11.4 million common units, while AREC Holdings Ltd., an affiliate of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, will sell 6.8 million of its 34.2 million units.

In 2013, Antony Ressler, Ares's co-founder, chairman and chief executive, was the firm's highest earner, receiving $15.5 million in compensation and a dividend of $123.1 million. Instead of earning salaries and bonuses, Mr. Ressler and other key Ares executives are compensated with equity grants, carried interest and incentive fees.

Mr. Ressler's haul was smaller than that of his brother-in-law, Apollo co-founder and CEO Leon Black. Mr. Black received $546.3 million in dividends, investment proceeds and compensation for 2013, making him the most richly rewarded executive at a publicly traded private-equity firm last year.

Following the IPO, which is being led by J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Mr. Ressler's 30.2% stake could be valued at $1.5 billion if the offering prices at the top end of the range.

Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com

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