3i Review To Spark £275m Tommee Tippee Bids

The owner of the Tommee Tippee range of baby products is close to being put up for sale in a move that will underline the revival of 3i, the British private equity group.

Sky News has learnt that 3i has begun discussions with advisers about a strategic review of Mayborn Group, which it has owned since taking it private in 2006.

An investment bank is expected to be appointed imminently to handle the review, which insiders expect to lead to an auction process in the next few months.

A flotation on the stock market is seen as a less likely alternative.

Mayborn is understood to be valued by 3i at roughly £275m including debts, with a number of unsolicited approaches said to have been made by potential bidders in recent months.

Sources said that trade buyers in Asia and the US, as well as other private equity firms, were expected to be sounded out as part of the review process.

Mayborn has seen its profits more than double under 3i's ownership, thanks partly to a string of innovative products such as its Perfect Prep machine to assist parents when they are about to feed their babies.

The company is chaired by Paul Mason, a retail veteran who also chairs Cath Kidston and who previously worked at Asda, Somerfield and Levi-Strauss.

He recently stepped down as chairman of New Look, the fashion retailer, following its £2bn takeover by Brait, a South African investment vehicle.

A successful sale would continue the revival of 3i under Simon Borrows, its chief executive for the last three years.

When Mr Borrows took over, the group was heavily indebted and had a significant backlog of under performing companies in its portfolio that it was struggling to offload.

The company had also been under siege from an activist investor and was touted as an opportunistic takeover target.

Since then, it has slashed the number of companies it invests in, culled jobs and closed offices in countries deemed peripheral to its core business.

Other companies in 3i's portfolio include Agent Provocateur, the lingerie brand, and Hobbs, the fashion retailer.

3i and Mayborn declined to comment on Wednesday.