Industrial testing business Exova is poised to be put up for sale by its controlling shareholder, three years after a lacklustre stock-market float that disappointed the City.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), the American buyout firm that counts former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy as one of its advisers, is understood to be reviewing options for the listed business.
Exova, based in Edinburgh, employs more than 4,500 people in 32 countries. Running tests for pharmaceutical and defence contractors, it traces its roots back to 1923. Exova worked with Airbus to test the safety of its A350 XWB. It has also tested Hitachi trains.
Exova’s shares closed at 218.8p on Friday, slightly down from their listing price of 220p in April 2014. CD&R still owns a