PAI Partners is considering options for its beauty and personal care packaging company Albea Group including a sale of the business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The buyout fund has held talks with potential advisers to help evaluate alternatives for Albea, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Options under consideration also include splitting the company up and selling the units separately, they said. PAI has previously held talks with suitors about a sale but was unable to reach an agreement, the people said.

PAI would seek a valuation in any deal for Albea of at least as much as in the original acquisition, the people said. The private equity firm acquired the asset in a transaction that valued the business at $1.6 billion in 2018, its website shows.

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Deliberations are at an early stage and PAI could still decide to keep Albea, the people said. A representative for PAI declined to comment.

Based in Paris, Albea offers a range of packaging solutions for makeup, fragrance, skincare, personal and oral care products, according to its website. The firm posted $1.2 billion in sales last year and has about 12,500 employees. It operates 43 industrial sites and offices, including 35 manufacturing sites across Europe, North and South America and Asia.

PAI originated in 1872 as the investment arm of then merchant bank Paribas, which is now part of France’s biggest lender BNP Paribas SA. PAI operates eight offices worldwide and manages about 22.4 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in assets, the firm’s website shows.

A deal for Albea would follow Carlyle Group’s acquisition of China-based firm HCP Packaging from Baring Private Equity Asia in May, for which terms were not disclosed. The companies had been nearing an agreement for about a $1 billion deal, Bloomberg News reported ahead of the announcement.

Source: BNN Bloomberg

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