Doughty Hanson Considers Avanza I.P.O.

British buyout shop Doughty Hanson is considering an initial public offering for portfolio company Avanza Group, Reuters reported. Doughty Hanson bought the Spanish bus company in 2006, and has hired JP Morgan to advise on options, Reuters said. The company is worth a reported 900 million euros ($1.3 billion).

(Reuters) – British private equity group Doughty Hanson [DOUHA.UL] is considering selling or floating Spanish bus firm Avanza Group and has hired JP Morgan (JPM.N), two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The group is looking at a sale, a flotation or a refinancing of Avanza, which it bought in 2006, the people said.

Avanza and JPMorgan declined to comment. Doughty Hanson had no immediate comment.

Avanza is Spain’s second-largest bus company after Alsa, owned by Britain’s National Express (NEX.L).

Newspaper Expansion, which earlier reported JPMorgan’s hiring, said Avanza could be worth about 900 million euros ($1.3 billion).

In a sale, potential bidders could include strategic rivals such as Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] unit Arriva, Stagecoach (SGC.L) and National Express, as well as private equity firms such as CVC [CVC.UL], Carlyle [CYL.UL], Bridgepoint, Apax, Advent International, Permira [PERM.UL] and Blackstone (BX.N), Expansion said. (Reporting by Andres Gonzalez in Madrid and Quentin Webb in London; Writing by Elizabeth O’Leary; Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7109 Euro)