(Bloomberg) -- Bridgepoint Group Plc is weighing options for Element Materials Technology, including a sale that could value the London-based testing company at about 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
The U.K.-listed private equity firm is in the early stages of studying strategic alternatives for the business, with any sale process likely to take place next year at the earliest, one of the people said.
Element could draw interest from other buyout firms, as well as strategic investors, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Deliberations are ongoing and Bridgepoint may decide to keep Element, they said. A representative for Bridgepoint declined to comment.
Element tests and certifies products and materials used in industries ranging from oil and gas to aerospace. The company, which can trace its history back almost two centuries, has more than 200 laboratories globally. Bridgepoint agreed to buy the business in 2015 from rival 3i Group Plc.
A sale of Element could be one of the largest by Bridgepoint since it went public in a July initial public offering. It would also add to $306 billion of buying and selling by private equity firms in Europe this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That figure has more than doubled from the same period in 2020, fueled by cheap financing and record investor allocations.
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