Bain and Carlyle among bidders for Japan's Hitachi Chemical -sources

NITTO DENKO

11/10/2019 07:48

TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Hitachi Ltd  6501.T  has
narrowed suitors for its $6.8 chemical unit to a handful of
companies including Bain Capital, Japan Industrial Partners and
Nitto Denko Corp  6988.T , four people with knowledge of the
deal said.
    Shortlisted bidders for Hitachi Chemical Co  4217.T  also
include U.S. private equity fund Carlyle Group L.P.  CG.O ,
three of the people said. Bain, the U.S. buyout fund, is teaming
up with Tokyo-based private equity firm Japan Industrial
Partners, the three said.
    The companies have been asked to submit offers by next month
for the second round of bidding, two of them said. The list will
be narrowed down to two bidders by the end of the year, with the
winning bid selected in the new year, one person.     
    All of the people spoke on the condition of anonymity
because the information has not been made public.
    Hitachi, Hitachi Chemical, Bain, Japan Industrial Partners,
Nitto Denko and Carlyle all declined to comment.  
    The sale of Hitachi Chemical is part of Hitachi's efforts to
reorganise of its businesses. In a move rare for Japan's
conglomerates, the company has been selling of non-core assets
while buying foreign businesses to expand overseas.
    The spin-off also marks another opportunity for global
private equity firms, which have been boosting their efforts in
Japan.
    Hitachi owns 51.2% of Hitachi Chemical. The chemical maker
had a market value of 733 billion yen ($6.8 billion) based on
Friday's closing price of 3,520 yen a share.
    
($1 = 107.9600 yen)

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita and Takaya Yamaguchi; additional
reporting by Noriyuki Hirata; Editing by David Dolan)
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