Private players team up for Toys R Us bid
Permira and Apollo go for global deal
European private equity firm Permira has teamed up with US rival Apollo to table a combined bid for the Toys R Us business.
The two finance groups believe they have a better chance of persuading Toys R Us to sell out with a global offer. The retailer has indicated that it will consider offers, but is thought to be reluctant to sell the profitable European stores separately, which would make it tougher to sell the underperforming US chain.
Toys R Us said in the summer that it was planning to restructire the business, with the focus on the profitable Babies R Us chain. The 1,200 plus Toys R Us stores are worth an estimated $3.5bn.
The [i]Financial Times[/i] reports that a number of private equity players and property groups have also registered an interest. The newspaper quotes a source close to Permira as saying: “The US side is a bit of a basket case. We were interested in the European operations but they were not willing to sell that bit off by itself.”
