Japan’s Nidec and private equity firm KPS Capital Partners are competing to acquire Siemens AG’s Innomotics large motors business, which could fetch about €3 billion (¥483.6 billion) in a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
The suitors have been invited to make second-round bids for Innomotics, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is private.
Kyoto-based Nidec, a maker of precision and automotive motors, is perceived as a natural buyer for the Siemens unit. New York-based KPS is known in Germany for the acquisition of Thyssenkrupp’s Waupaca iron foundry in 2012 and its subsequent sale to Hitachi Metals. It wasn’t immediately clear if other suitors remain.