* IPO price range 54-64 crowns per share
* Up to 200 million shares to be sold- source close to deal
* Company valued at 27-32 bln crowns- Reuters calculation
* IPO seen as stepping stone for potential Storebrand tie-up
(Adds peer comparison, analyst's comment)
OSLO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Mutually-owned insurer Gjensidige launched a long-awaited initial public offering on Tuesday, likely to be the biggest IPO in Norway since oil company Statoil floated in 2001.
Gjensidige, Norway's largest property and casualty insurer, said the indicative price range was 54-64 Norwegian crowns per share. That would value it at 27-32 billion Norwegian crowns ($4.5-$5.3 billion), according to a Reuters calculation.
Up to 200 million shares will be sold, a source close to the deal said, which would mean proceeds from the share sale of 10.8-12.8 billion crowns.
The Gjensidige Foundation, which owns the group and will get all the proceeds, has said it will sell 25-40 percent of its shares in the IPO. The source said that was still the case.
One analyst said Gjensidige might not be able to complete its IPO at the upper end of the indicated range.
"The mid-point of the indicative price range is 29.5 billion crowns. This is higher than the 27.5 billion we have estimated Gjensidige could trade at when the IPO is completed," said Carnegie analyst Thomas Svendsen in a note to clients.
Gjensidige's equity had a book value of 22.06 billion Norwegian crowns at the end of the third quarter. The proposed IPO will value it at between 1.22 and 1.45 times this amount, a Reuters calculation showed.
Finnish insurer Sampo currently trades at 1.34 times its third-quarter book value, while Denmark's Tryg trades at close to two times its book value.
Analysts said Gjensidige's listing was a step towards a possible tie-up with fellow Norwegian insurer Storebrand, in which Gjensidige has a 24.3 percent stake.
"They want to get listed in order to possibly use the listed share for future transactions," said Bengt Kirkoen, an analyst at Fondsfinans.
"They are holding 24 percent of Storebrand and the general view is that they are interested in acquiring or merging with Storebrand sometime in the not-too-distant future."
Storebrand, which specialises in life insurance, said last year it had tried and failed to merge with Gjensidige.
Gjensidige has mulled a listing for years. Its previous attempt to list on the Oslo bourse was abandoned during the global financial crisis.
The global appetite for IPOs has recovered in the second half of 2010, helping stock markets rally. But uncertainty over high government debts in several eurozone countries has dented optimism.
Gjensidige's book building and order period for the IPO is expected to end on Dec. 9 at 1200 GMT, the company said. (Reporting by Oslo newsroom; Editing by David Holmes and Jane Merriman)