UK-Based Car Parts Maker Plots £2bn Float

A car parts maker which ranks as part of Britain’s industrial heritage has begun preparing the ground for a London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) listing less than a year after its owner completed a £1.2bn takeover.

Sky News has learnt that Oxford-based TI Automotive, which supplies fluid systems to most of the world’s largest car manufacturers, including Ford and Volkswagen (LSE: 0P6N.L - news) , is preparing for a flotation likely to take place next year.

The company’s owner, Bain Capital, took control of TI Automotive at the end of June last year, having acquired the business from Oaktree Capital, another investment firm.

Sources said the flotation could value TI Automotive’s equity at more than £2bn, a figure which if achieved would represent an impressive return for Bain.

Lazard has been acting as the independent adviser to Bain, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) appointed to handle the initial public offering in the role of global co-ordinator, according to City insiders.

TI Automotive was founded in Birmingham in 1919 as Tube Investments, meaning that the company could celebrate its centenary as a publicly traded company.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) now operates roughly 130 facilities in 29 countries, making specialist parts such as tube and hose assemblies used in cars’ heating and ventilation systems.

The plans for a flotation will fuel bankers’ hopes of significant numbers of company listings in the aftermath of the UK’s referendum on European Union membership.

It remains possible that a listing could be derailed by interest from another individual buyer.

Bain declined to comment.