Leica makes cameras that cost more than most people’s cars and are bought, in large part, for the red dot on the front. So there is a certain logic to a brand built on scarcity and prestige now being courted by a buyer with a taste for both.
HSG, the Asian investment firm formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, has emerged as the front-runner to buy Blackstone’s stake in the company, according to Bloomberg.Blackstone holds 45% of Leica Camera AG, the holding it took as a strategic investor several years ago.
The remaining 55% sits with ACM, the Austrian investment vehicle of the billionaire Andreas Kaufmann, who has been the brand’s steward through its modern revival.
Both shareholders have been speaking to advisers about a sale that could value the Wetzlar-based maker at around €1 billion.
HSG is said to be ahead of a small field that has included the buyout firm Altor Equity Partners. The talks are reported to be at an early stage, and as with any deal at this stage, there is a real chance none happens at all. If Kaufmann does sell, Bloomberg has reported he and his family may reinvest, which would keep a familiar hand on a company that has traded on continuity for more than a century.
