LONDON - The European private equity firm Advent International agreed on Tuesday to sell Domestic & General, an extended warranty company, to CVC Capital Partners, a rival private equity firm.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CVC Capital is understood to have paid around £750 million, or $1.2 billion, for Domestic & General, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The deal marks the latest acquisition of a private equity-owned company by a rival financial player, as other potential options like initial public offerings and disposals to corporate buyers remain difficult because of the financial crisis.
Under the terms of the latest deal, CVC Capital will acquire Domestic & General, which Advent bought for £524 million in 2007 at the beginning of the financial crisis.
Domestic & General has been expanding internationally into Continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and currently generates around one-quarter of its 600 million pounds in yearly revenue from its operations outside of Britain.
The company was founded in 1912 and started trading on the London Stock Exchange in 1988 before being taken private. It reported pretax earnings of £83 million in the 12 months through March 31, according to a statement by Advent.
The deal for Domestic & General is expected to close by the end of the year.
Goldman Sachs, Marlborough Partners and the law firm Freshfields advised Advent on the deal.
