IK Investment Plans Sale of Schenck Process

Private equity firm IK Investment is planning a sale of the German industrial weighing specialist Schenck Process, and has enlisted Morgan Stanley to screen the market for potential buyers, Reuters reported. Schenck was acquired by IK from private equity investor HgCapital in 2007 — outbidding rival Capvest — and has been strengthened by three bolt-on acquisitions since. At the time, IK paid about 450 million euros ($594.7 million), Reuters wrote. -cn

(Reuters) – Private equity firm IK Investment has started preparations for a sale of the German industrial weighing specialist Schenck Process, three people familiar with the situation said.

Morgan Stanley has been mandated to screen the market for possible buyers, the sources said, adding that no official sales process has started yet.

“The aim is to sell Schenck this year, with private strategic as well as private equity investors expected to bid”, one of the people said.

While it could be of interest to industrial conglomerates of the likes of Siemens or General Electric, a private equity deal looks more likely, one of the sources said.

Schenck’s technology is not tied to a specific product but is of cross-industry interest he said, adding that this was the reason that former owner Duerr sold it in 2005.

Schenck was acquired by IK from private equity investor HgCapital in 2007 — outbidding rival Capvest — and has been strengthened by three bolt-on acquisitions since. At the time, IK paid about 450 million euros ($594.7 million), a financial source said.

Schenck has 3,000 employees world wide and posts annual sales of more than 500 million euros.

Schenck and Morgan Stanley declined to comment, IK Investment was not available for comment. ($1 = 0.7566 euros)

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)