By Eyk Henning and Alec Macfarlane
FRANKFURT--China Investment Corp. is in the running to buy a
German highway rest-stop and gasoline-station company that could be
valued at about EUR3 billion ($3.35 billion) in what would be the
largest Chinese acquisition in Germany, according to people
familiar with the matter.
The potential bid is the latest sign of the massive sovereign
wealth fund's ambitions to boost direct investments in long-term
overseas assets.
U.K.-based private-equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners
bought Tank & Rast in 2004 for EUR1 billion from investors led
by Allianz Capital Partners, Apax Partners and Lufthansa. Terra
Firma sold half of its stake in the company to Deutsche Bank's
investment arm RREEF. Both are asking suitors to place binding bids
by the end of July, people familiar with the transaction said.
Tank & Rast operates about 350 gas stations and 390 service
stations on German highways. The company recorded about EUR235
million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization in 2013, the most recent available data.
China Investment Corp. was formed in 2007 as a way for China to
diversify its massive foreign-exchange holdings and has roughly
$220 billion in overseas assets. CIC's Chairman Ding Xuedong told
The Wall Street Journal in March that the fund wants to take a more
direct role in managing its overseas assets as its foreign holdings
rise. People familiar with the matter say CIC views Tank & Rast
as a well-run and stable franchise in Europe's largest economy.
German companies are a frequent target for China and its growing
appetite for overseas investments. Chinese insurer Anbang was in
talks to buy real estate lender Deutsche Pfandbriefbank this year,
The Wall Street Journal reported. Investment fund Fosun has stakes
in several German companies, ranging from banks to apparel
retailers.
Among the other suitors for Tank & Rast is a consortium led
by the company's former owner, Allianz Capital Partners, people
familiar with the deal said. The investment arm of the giant German
insurer Allianz SE has teamed up with the Abu Dhabi Investment
Authority and Canada's infrastructure investor Borealis.
Tank & Rast is also being pursued by the infrastructure arm
of Macquarie Capital, while Italian toll-road operator Atlantia SpA
has expressed an interest.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@wsj.com
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