Forbes & Company Limited (BSE:502865) share price spiked 5% hitting new 52-week high of INR 2,600 per share on BSE after the Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Limited shortlisted three suitors for the big-bang sale process of its consumer durable Eureka Forbes Limited. Eureka Forbes is a subsidiary of listed parent company Forbes & Company. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group has shortlisted three suitors for the big-bang sale process of its consumer durable Eureka Forbes, a household name in the vacuum cleaner and water purifier segments, people with knowledge of the matter told Moneycontrol.

“Currently, it's a three-way race between private equity firms Advent International Corporation, Warburg Pincus LLC and AB Electrolux (publ) (OM:ELUX B). These players have been shortlisted for this high-profile deal and they are conducting due diligence,” sources said. The Shapoorji Pallonji group is looking to unlock value and also reduce its debt burden through the proposed transaction, this individual added.

An internal restructuring exercise, involving a demerger of Eureka Forbes from Forbes & Company is also being pursued simultaneously, he elaborated. Demerger procedures are taken up for approvals at the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal). “Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) has been mandated to find a suitable buyer and binding bids are expected to be submitted after a few weeks.

The SP group is expecting premium valuations in the range of INR 65 billion to INR 70 billion. In case of differences over valuation, a deal may be struck in the region of INR 50 billion to INR 60 billion,' a second person, an industry executive, told Moneycontrol.