Madison set to receive bids for KraussMaffei-sources

FRANKFURT, July 27 (Reuters) - Private equity investor Madison Capital expects tentative bids for German machinery group KraussMaffei by mid-August, two people familiar with the transaction told Reuters.

The investor, advised by Goldman Sachs, hopes to fetch as much as 700 million euros ($860 million) in the sale, the people said.

Several strategic players and private equity groups are interested and are expected to place an offer, they added.

KraussMaffei, a maker of machinery for processing plastics, is another example in a growing list of medium-sized European companies being put up for sale, as buyout groups scour their portfolios for sell-off candidates.

Despite tight financing conditions due to the euro zone crisis, banks remain willing to lend for buyouts of businesses they know well and have seen perform well under previous private equity owners.

Among others, Canada-based Husky is expected to place a bid for KraussMaffei, one person familiar with the industry said. Its owner, investor Berkshire Partners, could opt to combine the two machinery makers and later list it on the stock exchange, the person said.

KraussMaffei may also attract interest from Swiss rival Sidel, Japan's Fanuc Robotics and U.S.-based JSW Plastics Machinery.

Separately, several private equity groups are likely to place tentative bids.

KraussMaffei, with a workforce of about 4,000 people, generated sales of just over 900 million euros and a profit in its financial year 2010/11 ending in September.

It traces its roots to a locomotives maker in 1838. The company later specialised in defence products and spun off its plastics technology into a separate unit, which in 1992 became a part of steel group Mannesmann.

After the breakup of Mannesmann in 2000, the Krauss-Maffei plastics and rubber machinery operations became part of a joint venture of Siemens and KKR. Madison Capital acquired the business in 2006.

In 2008, plans to list KraussMaffei on the stock exchange had been scrapped.

KraussMaffei, Goldman Sachs, Husky and Fanuc declined to comment, while Madison, Sidel and JSW were not immediately available for comment.