German construction group Bilfinger Berger AG would have got a larger piece of the around $1.4 billion float of its Australian operations before the most recent worldwide tumult, however, the local chief, Nick Greiner, is pretty positive that the business has that capability to endure more instability, if any comes its way.

Bilfinger Berger today lodged a brochure for the operations, which has been renamed Valemus. It is Latin for sturdy and healthy, offering 555 million shares at a pinpointing price range of $2.20 to $2.50, in order to raise between $1.22bn and $1.39bn.

The early public offering, first flagged late last year, would be the largest of the year and the largest ever since Myer's devastating float in the most recent year, potentially offering optimism to the sluggish IPO market.

It would also pitch Valemus into straighter contest with competitor Leighton as a publicly listed firm and return Valemus' key business, Abigroup, to the Australian Securities Exchange after it delisted in 2004.

Valemus also houses construction and engineering business, Baulderstone and Bilfinger Berger Services, which was renamed as Conneq.

For calendar 2010, Valemus is predicting $4.6bn in proceeds and $220m in income prior to interest tax depreciation and amortization.