Carlyle said to be near deal to buy Autoform for €1.75B

Carlyle is said to be near a deal to buy Switzerland-based industrial software provider AutoForm Engineering GmbH from Astorg for roughly €1.75 billion, according to market sources.

Evercore and Jefferies advised Astorg on the sale, which is also said to have attracted interest from sponsor-bidders such as EQT and Francisco Partners. Jefferies was also offering a staple financing, market sources say, adding that the deal had also attracted pitches from direct lenders at roughly 7x EBITDA.

A deal would exit Astorg from an investment dating from 2016, when the firm bought Autoform from family shareholders. That deal was backed by a €198 million covenanted term loan B and a €54 million pre-placed second-lien. The borrower was most recently seen in July 2017, when it repriced its term loan alongside an add-on.

Autoform develops and markets software for the die-making and sheet metal-forming industries.

Dow Jones first reported news of the sale. LCD has contacted both Astorg and Carlyle for comment.