The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Kwik-Fit owner CVC Capital Partners is understood to be looking at a potential £1 billion sale or flotation of the UK-based car parts retailer later this year.
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The newspaper said the private equity firm, which snapped up Kwik-Fit [from Ford] for £330 million in 2002, has held discussions with banks in the past fortnight to discuss potential exit strategies, and advisers are expected to be appointed within weeks.
According to the Daily Telegraph, CVC, which is likely to more than double its money when it sells, is not thought committed to a flotation and, instead, will pursue a twin-track approach that could lead to an outright sale if there is sufficient interest from trade buyers or other private equity groups.
The paper noted that, in 1999, Kwik-Fit was bought by Ford for around £1 billion from founder Sir Tom Farmer before subsequently being sold to CVC at a heavy loss – Ford still holds a 19% stake in the business.
Kwik-Fit operates 670 service centres in the UK and 1,100 more across the rest of Europe. It runs 200 mobile tyre-fitting vehicles and has expanded its range of financial services products, the Daily Telegraph added.
