ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's Stadler Rail and Medacta are advancing plans to float their shares, several persons familiar with the deals said, and are aiming to make their debut on the SIX Swiss Exchange by mid-April.
The trainmaker and the medical devices companies have not finalised decisions to carry out initial public offerings. Any transaction could hinge on development of financial markets, the sources told Reuters.
An IPO is an option, a Stadler spokeswoman told Reuters, adding no decision had been made.
Medacta Chief Financial Officer Corrado Farsetta said separately that the family-owned firm is seeking to accelerate development.
"We are naturally looking at various options, including an IPO," Farsetta said.
Medacta, with about 930 employees, produces orthopaedic implants and devices for hip, knee, shoulder and spine problems. The company also uses minimally invasive methods, aiming to help patients leave the hospital more quickly following a procedure.
Based in Switzerland's Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, the company competes with U.S. companies such as Zimmer Biomet or Stryker.
Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are leading the deal with help from JP Morgan and UBS, the sources told Reuters last year.
Bussnang-based Stadler hired UBS and Credit Suisse last year as global coordinators to help prepare a stock sale, an option long considered by billionaire owner Peter Spuhler, people familiar with the matter said in October.
Stadler, with around 7,600 workers, has sales of around 2.4 billion Swiss francs (1.8 billion pounds), according to latest published figures.
(Reporting by Oliver Hirt and Angelika Gruber, writing by John Miller, editing by John Revill)
