Focus Media Holding Ltd, a Chinese display advertising company backed by Carlyle Group LP and other private equity firms, has sealed a $1.4 billion loan from a group of three banks to refinance existing debt ahead of a planned listing in Shanghai, Basis Point reported, citing sources familiar with the plans.

Focus Media, which delisted from the Nasdaq in 2013 after being targeted by shortseller Muddy Waters, plans to debut in Shanghai within a year, with the expected listing size larger than the $1.4 billion loan, added Basis Point, a Thomson Reuters publication.

The company borrowed the funds from China Minsheng Banking Corp, DBS Bank and China Merchants Bank, Basis Point said.

Carlyle, FountainVest Partners, CITIC Capital Partners, China Everbright and Fosun International Ltd acquired Focus Media in May 2013 for $3.8 billion, in what was China's biggest-ever leveraged buyout at the time.

Focus Media didn't immediately respond to a Reuters email request for comment on the loan and IPO plans.