Owners of car seat manufacturer Britax, The Carlyle Group, has hired investment bank Rothschild to advise it on a potential sale.
Private equity group Carlyle paid GBP230m (US$360m) for Britax five years ago and further details from Rothschild concerning the sale are expected next week.
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Speculation has centred on a possible sale price of around GBP350m for Britax, but this was given short shrift by a source close to the situation.
“[That] GBP350m is way too low – it is way north of GBP400m,” the source said.
Carlyle has owned the company for five years and is considered to have performed exceptionally well throughout the downturn.
Britax’s performance – and future earnings potential – appears to have been boosted considerably by the increasing prevalence of regulations surrounding child car seating.
As well as mature markets, emerging ones such as China and Brazil are also starting to enact child seat legislation, with ever-stricter rules.
“There is so much obvious growth for the company over the next few years,” said the source.
European Union car seat legislation has been adopted in Brazil this year, while Australia has adopted safety regulations requiring all children up to the age of seven to be in a car seat.
