ZF Friedrichshafen taps banks for sale or IPO of airbag unit, sources say

By Emma-Victoria Farr, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Ilona Wissenbach

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) -ZF Friedrichshafen has hired banks to explore a sale or initial public offering of its airbag unit, two people familiar with the matter said.

The German auto supplier has lined up BNP Paribas, Citi and Goldman Sachs to advise on a potential deal, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

ZF Friedrichshafen is aiming for a valuation of more than 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) for the unit, known as ZF LIFETEC, a third person said.

A spokesperson for the group said it was assessing "all options" since it announced plans in October 2022 to make the business independent.

Earlier this year, the company announced plans to sell or list the business on the stock market but noted it would not do so at any price.

The preparations come amid other unit carve-outs by European corporates and an uptick in stock market listings on the back of higher stock prices.

French pharmaceutical group Sanofi is working on a spin-out of its consumer health division, while Swedish video game group Embracer announced plans last week to split into three listed entities.

ZF LIFETEC supplies passenger safety devices such as airbags for vehicles and last year generated 4.7 billion euros in sales.

($1 = 0.9336 euros)

(Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr, Pablo Mayo and Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Jan Harvey)