Delsey owners said to weigh sale valuing firm at $500 million

LONDON | PARIS: Partners Group Holding AG and Argan Capital are exploring a sale of Delsey, their French luggage and travel accessories business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The private equity firms are working with Lazard Ltd to find a buyer in a deal that may happen next year, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are confidential. The sellers are seeking as much as $500 million, two of the people said.

The review is at an early stage and no final decisions have been made, they said. Delsey has attracted interest from potential buyers in Europe and Asia, one of the people said. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE agreed to acquire German suitcase maker Rimowa for ¤640 million ($711million) earlier this month, which will put chief executive officer Bernard Arnault's son, Alexandre Arnault, in charge of the group’s first German asset. Representatives for Partners Group, Argan, Delsey and Lazard declined to comment. Delsey got its start in 1946 making leather cases for cameras. The company began its luggage brand in the 1970s and now has a presence in Europe, Asia and the US.