Swiss investor Martin Ebner is in talks to buy Swiss-German United Grinding, as other bidders have dropped out of the race for the machine tool maker, two people close to the matter said.
China Jianyin Investment (JIC), which had been keen to buy Bern-based UGG, is no longer in the running, one of them said.
Switzerland’s Oerlikon (OERL.S) has also dropped out of the auction for the maker of tools that are used to grind surfaces and small workpieces, the sources said.
UGG was expected to fetch up to 600 million euros ($739 million), sources close to the matter previously said.
The company, owned by Germany’s industrial holding Koerber AG, is expected to post earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 72 million euros this year.
JIC, Oerlikon and Koerber were not immediately available for comment, while Martin Ebner declined to comment.
Source: Reuters.com