Report: KKR to Buy Nissan’s Stake in Calsonic

U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co. is poised to buy Nissan Motor Co.’s 41% stake in auto supplier Calsonic Kansei Corp. as part of a plan to acquire the supplier, sources tell The Nikkei.

The newspaper says Nissan, which put its stake up for sale in June, plans to designate KKR as its preferred bidder. The carmaker reportedly would apply its gain to help fund its own work on artificial intelligence, sensors and other technologies related to connected and automated vehicles.

KKR’s plan is to buy Nissan’s stake, then make a tender offer for Calsonic shares held by other stockholders in a takeover deal worth as much as 400 billion yen ($3.8 billion), according to the newspaper. Calsonic, which derives 80% of its business from Nissan, makes exhaust systems, instrument panels and heat exchangers.

Sources told Reuters last month that U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and Asia’s MBK Partners also are making a play for Calsonic. The supplier has a market value of about 280 billion yen ($2.7 billion). In the fiscal year ended March 31, Calsonic generated sales of more than 1 trillion yen ($9.5 billion) and posted an operating profit of 38 billion yen ($363 million).