Buyout firms line up for Telvent

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is preparing a bid for Spanish technology company Telvent, a source close to the situation has confirmed.

Telvent, which specializes in IT services to the energy, transport, environmental and public service sectors, is listed on the US NASDAQ Stock Exchange and 62 percent owned by the Spanish conglomerate Abengoa.

The source said the process is still in its early stages, while a report in Spanish newspaper Expansion linked rival firms Permira and The Carlyle Group to the bidding process. KKR and Carlyle both declined to comment, while Permira and Abengoa were unavailable for comment.

According to the newspaper report the price of the majority stake Abengoa is looking to sell is a sticking point in the process, as Telvent has lost over two thirds of its value so far this year.

Last week Abengoa said in a statement that it would “start to study the potential sale of its stake in Telvent after being approached by specific organisations.”

Abengoa is the latest Spanish conglomerate to begin trimming non core assets as business conditions worsen.

Last month private equity firms including Permira were reportedly considering bids for support services firm Clece, currently a subsidiary of Spanish construction conglomerate Actividades de Construcción y Servicios. In August, 3i bought a 75 percent stake in funeral operator Mémora Inversiones Funerarias from another Spanish building conglomerate, Accion.