Advent-led consortium to buy unit of Crompton Greaves

The US priavte equity firm is tipped to have picked up the consumer products business for $350 mn, say sources

A consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Advent International Corp. is set to buy the consumer products business of India's Crompton Greaves for up to $350 million, two sources directly involved in the deal told Reuters.

The deal is set to be announced within days, the sources said. They declined to be named as the talks are not public.

The board of Crompton Greaves, a conglomerate whose activities stretch from power transmission equipment to fans and air coolers, in March approved a plan to hive off its consumer products business into a separately listed company.

Newspaper reports have since said the company, controlled by the Avantha Group, could instead consider a sale.

The consortium of buyers includes Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings as a partner, the sources added. After the deal, Advent will hold a stake of 65 to 70 percent in the business, one of the sources said.

Barclays is advising Crompton on the deal.

A spokesman for Avantha declined to comment. Advent International declined to comment, while a Temasek spokesman was not immediately reachable.