(Bloomberg) -- U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is nearing a deal to acquire the auto-trading unit of German classifieds company Scout24 AG, people familiar with the matter said.
The purchase by H&F, which beat out several rival suitors for AutoScout24, is set to value the business at more than 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), according to the people. A transaction could be announced as soon as Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Scout24 said in November that it was evaluating options for the unit, including a sale or a spinoff. Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has demanded that the company split in two to better focus on its real estate business.
No final agreements have been reached, and negotiations could still fall apart at the last minute, the people said. Representatives for H&F and Scout24 declined to comment.
Elliott and other large shareholders are piling pressure on the company to add value after a takeover offer from Hellman & Friedman and Blackstone Group Inc. fell apart earlier this year. Scout24 shareholders rejected their bid, which valued the company at 4.9 billion euros, and the private equity suitors ruled out improving their offer.
--With assistance from Dinesh Nair.
To contact the reporters on this story: Eyk Henning in Frankfurt at ehenning1@bloomberg.net;Aaron Kirchfeld in London at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net;Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Dinesh Nair
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
