Blackstone et al. circle Electra‘s Allflex

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Electra Partners' livestock identification company Allflex has attracted interest from a dozen private equity firms, including Blackstone, Carlyle and Bain Capital, according to reports.

Electra's French animal identification tags business, which the firm acquired in 1998, could fetch around $1bn or 10x EBITDA if sold, reports suggest.

Private equity houses invited to take bids reportedly include Astorg Partners, Bain Capital, BC Partners, Blackstone, Carlyle, Charterhouse, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Omers and PAI partners. Around half of the bidders could make it through to the next round.

Electra was rumoured to have hired Rothschild to explore options for the business in January, including a possible refinancing. Electra already refinanced the business twice, in 2005 and 2007.

The strong interest in the business is said to have sprung from a renewed call for the traceability of livestock following the horsemeat scandal. Debt packages of around $650-700m, or 6.5-7x EBITDA, are believed to be currently arranged to support the deal.

Electra acquired Allflex in 1998 in the wake of the BSE crisis, which sparked tougher regulations on food traceability in the EU. The business has factories in France, Brazil, Poland and China and generated a turnover of $259.4m in 2011.