CARPINTERIA, Calif. – CKE Restaurants Inc., which operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardees fast food chains, is looking to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to a Reuters report. Apollo Management took CKE private in 2010 in a deal worth $700 million.

The company submitted its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17. CKE said it would apply to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘CK.’

The move comes as CKE moves to expand Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurant locations. Plans are in the works for developing as many as 88 new Hardee's restaurants throughout the greater Tampa, Fla., area during the next several years. CKE Restaurants Inc. also reached a development agreement with AML Foods Limited to build Carl’s Jr. restaurants in the Bahamas over the next five years. The first restaurant is scheduled to open in late 2012.

Finally, CKE is in a partnership with Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited to build and operate Carl’s Jr. restaurants in New Zealand. Restaurant Brands plans to open its first Carl’s Jr. restaurant by mid-year 2012 with additional restaurant openings targeted by the end of its next financial year.