KKR to pay $500 million for Warburg stake in Alliance Tire Group: sources

MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Indian tyre maker Alliance Tire Group for about $500 million from Warburg Pincus LLC, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The deal, set to be one of the biggest private equity investments in India in recent months, could be announced as soon as this week, said the sources, who declined to be identified before a public announcement.

Under the deal terms, KKR will buy a roughly 75 percent stake from Warburg Pincus, which invested in Alliance in 2007. KKR will also take over about $125 million of Alliance Tire's debt.

Alliance Tire owns two manufacturing plants, one each in Israel and India, and has a sales presence in more than 120 countries, according to its website. Alliance's tyres are also made at contract manufacturing facilities in China and Taiwan.

The group had sales of more than $500 million in 2012.

KKR and Warburg Pincus declined to comment, while Alliance Tire officials were not immediately available for comment.

Private equity firms including Advent International, TPG Capital, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and KKR had been in separate talks to buy Warburg Pincus' stake in Alliance, sources had told Reuters in January. (Reporting by Indulal P.M. and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Tony Munroe)