Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc’s commercial-marine unit is attracting interest from European and Asian companies as well as buyout firms, according to people familiar with the matter.
Potential bidders include Finnish power-plant maker Wartsila Oyj, Norwegian oil-services firm Aker ASA and Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private. Private equity firms focused on industrial deals are also interested, they said.
Rolls-Royce placed the marine business under review this month after it was approached by potential buyers. The London-based company, which generates most of its revenue from the sale of engines for Boeing Co and Airbus SE aircraft, is now assessing a disposal, spin-off or management buyout of the business.
Spokespeople for Rolls, Wartsila, Aker and Hyundai Heavy declined to comment.
The move extends chief executive officer Warren East’s attempt to shake up the struggling industrial giant after being hired to turn it around in 2015. Since his arrival, the former head of ARM Holdings Plc has moved to strip out middle management, cut thousands of jobs and replaced a number of top executives.
East had previously resisted calls to sell the commercial-shipping arm from analysts and investors including board member ValueAct. Instead he’s focused on reducing headcount at the unit and sharpened the focus on autonomous shipping to offset a downturn in the oil and gas industry.
Analysts are predicting a valuation of between 500mn pounds to 800mn pounds for the operations being sold, which exclude former Daimler AG unit Tognum and Norway’s Bergen Engines business. The sale process also excludes military assets that Rolls plans to integrate into its defence business.
Rolls-Royce approached Helsinki-based Wartsila in 2014 about a takeover aimed at bulking up its marine operations. That move was ultimately rebuffed.