(Bloomberg) -- China Merchants Capital and private equity funds including KKR & Co. are among firms considering bids for pallet maker Loscam Asia Pacific Co., according to people familiar with the matter.
The investment arm of China Merchants Group and KKR have each been evaluating the business ahead of potential non-binding offers that could come as soon as Friday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A sale of Loscam, whose owners include China Merchants Group, Trustar Capital and FountainVest Partners, could fetch $2 billion to $2.5 billion, the people said.
Loscam’s assets have also drawn preliminary interest from other alternative asset managers including Blackstone Inc. and EQT AB, the people said.
While the owners are looking to divest the entire company, which operates in Australia, New Zealand, Greater China and Southeast Asia, some suitors may consider a bid for specific geographies, according to the people.
Deliberations are ongoing and Loscam’s owners may decide not to proceed with a deal, according to the people. Blackstone, EQT, KKR and Trustar declined to comment. China Merchants Capital couldn’t be reached for comment and representatives for Fountainvest didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Loscam’s owners considered selling the Australia and New Zealand assets in 2022 to raise more than $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported at the time, but the plan was put on hold.
Founded in Australia in 1942, Loscam makes wood and plastic pallets used to transport goods, according to its website. It also produces cages for high-value freight, as well as fresh-produce crates and bulk containers.
In 2022, Loscam merged its Chinese business with Brambles Ltd.’s CHEP China, which runs pallet and automotive pooling operations in mainland China and Hong Kong. The entity is 80% owned by Loscam and 20% owned by Brambles.
China Merchants Group acquired Loscam in 2010 and the pallet maker moved its headquarters to Hong Kong a year later. Trustar, formerly known as Citic Capital, and FountainVest bought a 55% stake in Loscam from Sinotrans Ltd., a unit of China Merchants Group, for about 2.5 billion yuan ($344 million) in 2018.
--With assistance from Dong Cao, Cathy Chan and Swetha Gopinath.
(Updates with EQT interest in third paragraph.)
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