Esegur up for sale, bidders include Prosegur and Loomis
Esegur, the Portuguese security company, has been put on the block by its owners Novo Banco and Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD), a source familiar and two sources briefed on the situation said.
Haitong and Caixa Banco de Investimento (CaixaBI) both have mandates on the sell-side, said the first source briefed. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are beginning to circulate, said the second source briefed. The auction is likely to begin in earnest in the next couple of weeks, said the source familiar.
Half of Esegur is owned by Portuguese bank Novo Banco, formerly Banco Espirito Santo, while the other half is in the hands of state-owned bank CGD.
CGD declined comment. Novo Banco, Haitong and Esegur did not reply to requests for comment. CaixaBI confirmed the deal, but declined to provide details.
Companies interested in Esegur include Prosegur [BME:PSG], Loomis and other international security series players, said the first source.
Prosegur declined to comment. Loomis did not respond to requests for comment.
Cash-in-transit and cash processing are key businesses for Prosegur's growth, said a person familiar with its thinking. Its last deal in the sector was the acquisition of a 33.33% stake of SBV Services of South Africa in February for EUR 19m.
Esegur is the largest Portuguese-owned full service security firm operating in Portugal with annual sales of around EUR 55m.