Directories business Yell was gearing up to become one of the UK's biggest stocks after being valued at up to £2.3 billion.

The group is aiming to float on the London Stock Exchange in July and revealed its price range had been set at between 270p and 345p a share.

That would value Yell's equity at between £1.8 billion and £2.3 billion.

Yell is hoping to rake in about £717 million from the listing, which will be used to reduce debts and for acquisitions.

Directors of the group are set to benefit from the float. Chief executive John Condron's holding would be valued at about £15 million at the mid-point, while finance director John Davis' stake would be worth about £7 million.

But the real winners are likely to be the venture capitalist firms Hicks Muse Tate and Furst and Apax Partners, who bought the business from BT.

They are selling about 25 per cent of the shares they own in a move which could net them about £600 million.

The firms will continue to own just under 44 per cent of the share capital once the listing is completed.

Yell has appointed Robert Scott non-executive chairman.

Mr Scott, 60, retired as chief executive of CGNU last year and is a former chairman of the Association of British Insurers.

Yell's price range is lower than some analysts had been hoping for.

The market for initial public offerings spent most of last year in the doldrums. Over the last few months, there has been a resurgence but conditions continue to be rough.

Punch Taverns was forced to price down its float while others, such as HMV, saw their share price fall once trading got under way.