Onex Corp, Canada’s largest private-equity firm, is in talks to acquire a British survival equipment maker Survitec Group Ltd from Warburg Pincus LLC for around 450 million pounds ($704 million).
The two firms are currently negotiating a price for for the Southampton, England-based company, Survitec Group Ltd. An agreement may be reached before the end of the month, according to a Bloomberg report citing three people with knowledge of the discussions.
If Onex does acquire Survitac it would be the company’s second acquisition in Europe this year. Last month Onex acquired the Swiss juice-carton maker SIG Combibloc Group AG.
Survitec has belonged to Warburg Pincus since 2010 when Warburg bought it from private equity group Montagu for 280 million pounds.
Warburg Pincus has been looking to sell the company for 500 million pounds, according to a Reuters report.
Survitec Group is a manufacturer of personal survival and safety equipment for usage after ejecting from aircraft or when at sea, such as rescue boats, fire extinguishers, life jackets, and anti-gravity suits.
Survitec customers include the UK Ministry of Defence, the US Navy, the US Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, Shell, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Princess Cruises.
Survitec Group bought the fellow Norwegian equipment maker Brude Safety AS from Koppernaes AS in November 2013 for an undisclosed sum, according to the company’s website.