(Adds details on company strategy)
SAO PAULO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian toy retailer Ri Happy Brinquedos SA filed on Tuesday for an initial public offering on the Sao Paulo stock exchange, joining a rush of new share sales at the start of the year.
According to a filing with securities regulator CVM, the company will issue new shares, and shareholders such as funds managed by buyout firm Carlyle Group LP , which controls Ri Happy, will also sell shares. The number of shares offered was not disclosed, nor was the planned price range.
The filing by Ri Happy followed recent requests for IPOs this year from Grupo SBF SA, which owns sporting goods retailer Lojas Centauro, and drugmaker Blau Farmaceutica SA. Payment processor PagSeguro Digital Ltd is also set to price its IPO on Tuesday.
In the preliminary prospectus, RI Happy said it planned to use the money to expand its network of 259 stores and to fund acquisitions.
The toy retailer intends to buy specialty retailers focused on selling products for infants and young children, which are less subject to seasonality than toy retailers, Ri Happy said in the document.
Ri Happy posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 141 million reais ($43.5 million) last year from net revenue of 1.278 billion reais.
($1 = 3.24 reais)
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Peter Cooney)
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