Brazil's second-largest beef exporter, Bertin, may sell stock in an initial public offering as it looks to raise cash and fund future investments, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Wednesday, quoting a company director.

Bertin, which is also Brazil's largest leather exporter, expects sales in 2009 to jump 25 percent to about 9.4 billion reais ($5.1 billion), but in order to reach that target it needs to improve its capital structure, the director, Fernando Falco, told Valor in an interview.

The company has been approached by banks to structure medium- and long-term funding deals and may consider bonds in the local or international capital markets, he said.

We are talking with financial institutions looking for a market boost to prepare ourselves for an initial offering, Falco said.

Bertin has given up plans for a merger with rival Marfrig, he added, deciding instead to focus on organic expansion.

($1 = 1.856 reais)

(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; editing by John Wallace)