Thor Industries has emerged as the leading bidder for German family-owned peer Erwin Hymer Group in a deal valuing the company at $2.34 billion, people close to the matter said.
This story originally appeared in Reuters.
Talks with Thor are advancing, but not yet exclusive, the people said. They added that the negotiations could still fall apart and Hymer’s owners could instead opt for an initial public offering.
The offer of Thor – which would be able to reap synergies through a combination of its own business with Hymer – exceeded that of runner-up Centerbridge, a private equity group, one of the people said, adding that a decision is expected this month.
Hymer, Thor and Centerbridge all declined to comment.
Hymer’s owners, which initially put a stake in the company on the block seeking funds for Hymer to invest in North America and Asia, originally only planned to divest a minority, but have opened up to the idea of selling control.
Last month, they mandated Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Citi as so-called global coordinators of a potential initial public offering, with Macquarie acting as so-called IPO advisor.
