Goldman’s PE arm nears deal for events company PSAV

The deal for the company – currently owned by private equity firm Kelso & Co – could be announced as early as this week, one of the people said. Kelso acquired PSAV for $413.4 million in 2007.

PSAV is the largest provider of audiovisual services to the U.S. hotel industry and helps coordinate events and meetings using high-definition projectors and plasma screens.

The Long Beach, California-based company has EBITDA of between $130 million and $140 million, people have previously told Reuters.

A deal for Goldman would come after it changed the way it invests in private equity to comply with the so-called Volcker rule that is expected to limit investment bank investments in illiquid asset classes.

In a bid to pool money for deals without raising a private equity fund, the Wall Street bank has been underwriting the equity in deals and then lining up clients who are willing to put money into accounts set up to invest in them, people familiar with the matter said earlier this year.

A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman declined to comment. Kelso and PSAV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Greg Roumeliotis is a reporter for Reuters News in New York