Nielsen Holdings, the company known for consumer research and monitoring television ratings that also organizes the Outdoor Retailer, Action Sports Retailer and Interbike trade fairs in the U.S., has filed for an initial public offering. The company hopes to raise as much as $1.75 billion, which will be used to cut down its $8.6 billion in debt and for other general corporate purposes. It did not say how many shares it will be offering, or the expected price. Since May 2006, Nielsen has been owned by a group of private equity firms, including AlpInvest Partners, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

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