Diebold Nixdorf has engaged Credit Suisse and Evercore to advise the company on a potential sale, according to a report from CNBC quoting people “familiar with the matter.”
The report said that talks are still in the early stages, and that the company is targeting NCR Corp. and private equity firms as possible buyers.
However, no price has been set for the company and a sale is by no means assured, according to the unidentified sources.
Diebold, Evercore and Credit Suisse have all declined to comment on a rumored sale.
Diebold reported disappointing Q2 results last month and lowered its guidance for the year. At the time, the company said that it was working with lenders to ease its cash flow situation.
The negative earnings report immediately caused the company’s share price to plummet 37 percent, and has continued to decline since, closing at $3.95 last Friday.
Diebold issued a press release reporting that the company is in “constructive and productive discussions with its lenders regarding its future financial flexibility and expects to reach a resolution in the near term.”
The news buoyed shares, which were up 8.9 percent premarket; news of a possible sale provided an additional lift to $4.63 at 1:30 p.m. Monday, for a total improvement of 17.09 percent.
Diebold also announced in the press release that it now owns 90 percent of outstanding shares of Diebold Nixdorf AG, following the redemption earlier this month of 3.8 million shares (corresponding to 12.9 percent of the outstanding shares) with a value of approximately $255 million.
According to the release, ‘such shareholding entitles the Company, at the Company’s election, to initiate the process to merge Diebold Nixdorf AG with and into Diebold KGaA, a significant final step in the integration of the Company’s German subsidiaries.
When initiated, this elective process includes the Company’s acquisition of all remaining shares of Diebold Nixdorf AG, which the Company expects to initiate expeditiously in future quarters.
Further, Diebold announced that the company had received cash proceeds on Aug. 9 of approximately $70 million from the monetization of its investment in company owned life insurance contracts to further bolster liquidity.