Sprott prices IPO at C$10/share to raise C$200 mln

TORONTO, May 8 (Reuters) - Independent fund manager Sprott Inc on Thursday announced plans to sell 20 million shares at C$10 ($9.84) a share in an initial public offering scheduled to close on May 15.

Sprott Inc will be the owner of Sprott Asset Management Inc, an independent fund manager with C$6.8 billion in assets under management. It said the new shares would be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange from May 16 with the ticker symbol SII.

Underwriters have the option to buy up to 3 million additional shares at the offering price in the first 30 days after the deal closes, bringing the amount raised to as high as C$230 million.

Sprott Asset Management Inc. was created in August 2000 by Eric Sprott, who, with his fund managers, has gained recognition for savvy investments in the mining and energy sectors. He and other insiders filed an initial prospectus last month to sell up to 23 million shares.

Canadian media said that would cut Sprott's share in the company to 67 percent from 78 percent.

There have been few IPOs in Canada so far this year, and none in the financial services sector, which has underperformed the broader Canadian stock market. ($1=$1.02 Canadian) (Reporting by Janet Guttsman; editing by Carol Bishopric)