NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Private equity firms will likely be forceful bidders for shipping container company Triton Container International Ltd., which the Pritzker family reportedly is looking to sell.
According to several media reports, San Francisco-based Triton is considering a sale that could fetch up to $2.5 billion, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) (GS) shopping the company.
"You'll probably see more private equity firms step up to this one than strategic buyers," said Peter Shaerf, managing director with AMA Capital Partners, a merchant bank that focuses on the maritime industry.
Triton owns the largest fleet of marine transport cargo containers in the world, giving it an attractive asset base that a private equity firm could borrow against in a leveraged buyout. It also has 19 offices worldwide and a fleet of commercial and cargo airplanes that are operated through a subsidiary. It is unclear what assets would be included in a sale. Triton and Goldman did not return calls for comment.
"Any company with a lot of hard assets is good for a complicated debt structure, which is always attractive to financial buyers," said Bob Filek, partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transaction Services group.
Triton has also been investing money in new container units, according to Shaerf. It currently has a fleet of between 1.3 million to 1.4 million TEUs, an industry metric that stands for twenty-foot or equivalent units.
While the shipping container industry is consolidating, Shaerf said Triton's three main competitors - Textainer, TAL International Container Corp. (TAL) and GE Seaco - are unlikely to enter the bidding without a deep-pocketed private equity firm at their side.
Two private equity firms that could be interested, based on past participation in the sector, are the Jordan Co. and Fortress Investment Group.
Jordan Co. bought container leasing company TAL International (NYSE:TAL) in 2004 for $1.2 billion, including about $200 million in equity. TAL went public late last year.
Fortress, meanwhile, made an unsuccessful bid for shipping company Stelmar Shipping Ltd. in 2004. Stelmar was eventually bought by a strategic buyer, Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE:OSG) (OSG).
Representatives from Jordan and Fortress did not return calls seeking comment.
The Chicago-based Pritzker family owns a business empire that's estimated to be worth more than $15 billion and that includes the Hyatt Corp. hotel chain, industrial companies, and real estate holdings.
(This story originally appeared in LBO Wire, a daily e-mail newsletter that provides in-depth analysis on buyouts and private equity. Dow Jones Newswires, publisher of LBO Wire, runs select stories from the newsletter.)
-By Paul Ziobro, Dow Jones Newswires/LBO Wire; 201-938-2046; paul.ziobro@ dowjones.com
-By Marietta Cauchi; Dow Jones Newswires; 201 938 2129; marietta.cauchi@ dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 04-07-06 1109 Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
