Hitachi : Thyssenkrupp shortlists three private equity consortia in elevator sale - sources
January 20, 2020 at 10:49 am
Share
Thyssenkrupp has shortlisted three private equity consortia in the auction of its prized 15 billion euro (£12.8 billion) elevator business, people close to the matter said, adding that peer Kone could still submit a bid later this month.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp has shortlisted three private equity consortia in the auction of its prized 15 billion euro (£12.8 billion) elevator business, people close to the matter said, adding that peer Kone could still submit a bid later this month.
A consortium of buyout groups Advent and Cinven, which are working with Germany's RAG Stiftung remain in the running as does a bidding team led by Carlyle and Blackstone, and a third group led by Brookfield, the people said.
Kone, which is working with private equity firm CVC, has been given time until January 27 to submit an offer, the sources said.
Thyssen and the bidders declined to comment or were not immediately available for comment.
Thyssenkrupp, under pressure after numerous profit warnings, needs to rake in cash by selling all or part of its elevator business, the world's fourth-largest industry player and by far the group's most profitable asset.
The group has launched a dual-track process for the division, which could result in a sale or a listing, but chances for the latter are seen dwindling as proceeds from a partial flotation might not be sufficient.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Christoph Steitz and Matthias Inverardi; Additional reporting by Tom Käckenhoff; Editing by Michelle Martin)
Hitachi specializes in manufacturing and marketing of electronic and industrial equipments. Net sales (including intragroup) break down by family of products and services as follows:
- social infrastructure and industrial systems (24.7%): elevators, escalators, industrial facilities, railway systems, power generation units, etc. The group also provides engineering and construction of nuclear, hydroelectric, and thermal power plants services;
- information and telecommunications products and services (20.1%): systems integration, cloud computing, software, servers, hard disks, PCs, ATMs, data communication base stations, payment terminals, etc.;
- materials and components (16.6%): semi-conductor materials, printed circuit cards, cables, copper and forged steel products, magnetic materials, organic and inorganic chemical products, etc.;
- construction equipment (10%) : hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, mining equipment, etc.;
- automotive systems (9.4%): powertrain systems, control systems, etc.;
- electronic products (9.2%): fiber-optic components, screen tubes, testing and measurement equipment, medical equipment, equipment for manufacturing semiconductors, etc.;
- household appliances (4.7%): heating and air conditioning equipments, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.;
- other (5.3%): mainly transport, financial and logistical services.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (49.2%), Asia (21.3%), North America (12.7%), Europe (10.8%) and other (6%).