GSW IPO price range to be set at 15-19 eur-source

FRANKFURT, April 22 (Reuters) - Property company GSW could see its shares fetch up to 19 euro each when the group makes its debut on the Frankfurt stock exchange on May 7, a person familiar with the matter said.

The price range for the initial public offering will be set at 15-19 euros per share on Friday, which would translate into a market value of 670-790 million euros ($0.9-1.1 billion), the person told Reuters on Thursday.

GSW aims to raise cash in the IPO to lower its debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The flotation is expected to spark a fresh round of IPOs by German companies. [ID:nLDE6380KL]

GSW was founded in 1924 by the city state of Berlin, which sold it to a consortium of Goldman Sachs's (GS.N) Whitehall fund and Cerberus [CBS.UL] in 2004. The deal included that GSW would receive a three-digit-million euro sum in case of listing. (Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Maria Sheahan)