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Freshii Inc., the health-food restaurant chain, is seeking to raise about $100-million ($75-million U.S.) in its initial public offering in Canada, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Freshii and investors including Jaxii Holdings LLC, a firm controlled by Freshii chairman and chief executive officer Matthew Corrin, plan to sell subordinate voting shares as part of the offering, according to a Tuesday statement by the Toronto-based company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada are leading the sale.

A representative for Freshii declined to comment on the amount the company may raise.

Corrin, who once did marketing work for Oscar de la Renta, founded Freshii in 2005 with a loan from his parents. As U.S. consumers, and particularly millennials, seek out healthier food options, Freshii aims to establish itself as a go-to option for quick, affordable and healthful meals, Corrin has said. The firm has since expanded to 244 stores across 15 countries and in more than 30 states and provinces in North America as of Sept. 25, according to a Dec. 19 regulatory filing.

Freshii plans to open 150 to 160 new franchised stores in fiscal 2017 and anticipates annual same-store sales growth of between 3 per cent and 4 per cent from fiscal 2017 through fiscal 2019, the company said in its regulatory filling. System-wide sales are estimated to reach between $355-million and $365-million by the end of fiscal 2019, the company said.

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