UPDATE 2-India's Hindalco mulls seeking $1.2 bln in Novelis IPO, Bloomberg News reports

(Updates with details from paragraph 6, adds request for comment from Novelis in paragraph 3)

BENGALURU, May 8 (Reuters) - Hindalco Industries , owned by Indian billionare Kumar Mangalam Birla, is considering seeking about $1.2 billion in the initial public offering of its U.S.-based unit Novelis, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

Hindalco, one of India's largest aluminium and copper producers, may target a valuation of about $18 billion for Novelis, which the Birla group will seek to list on the New York Stock Exchange by September, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

Hindalco declined to comment on the report, while Novelis did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Novelis, the world's leading producer of flat-rolled aluminum products, said in late February that it had confidentially filed paperwork for a U.S. IPO, with sole stakeholder Hindalco selling shares.

Bank of America and Citigroup are among the banks working on the listing, Bloomberg reported. It did not mention how much stake Hindalco planned to sell.

Earlier this week, Novelis reported a rise in its fourth-quarter core profit on strong aluminium demand and higher prices, with the long-term outlook for the company's earnings expected to increase further, as per analysts.

Shares of Hindalco settled 2.2% higher after the report. The company will report quarterly earnings later this month. (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sonia Cheema)