We will see the pricing of HCA Holdings Inc.’s third IPO and second from private equity ownership in what should be the largest U.S. private equity backed IPO ever Tonight. As you know HCA is the largest privately owned hospital chain in the U.S. and is looking to raise about $3.5 billion from the offering. Back in 2006 the company was taken private by Bain Capital, KKR, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity in a $32 billion deal at the peak of the LBO craze. This would translate to a market cap somewhere in the $15 billion range.

Beside that, Many of HCA’s hospitals are located in “high growth” urban and suburban areas with 9,808 beds and 38 hospitals in Florida, as well as 10,410 beds and 36 hospitals in Texas.  On the company’s most recent earnings call Chairman Richard Bracken said that the company’s size, efficiency and diverse nature should promote future growth on the bottom line.

The momentum was in HCA’s favor. Global IPO volume is up 15% on dollar volume and 12% on the number of deals compared to the same period last year, according to Dealogic. HCA was a big test for the initial public offering market and for private equity. As the biggest-ever private-equity-backed IPO, it tests the boundaries of what’s possible in the space.