KION Group is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA

Superlift Holding Sarl of Luxembourg, the holding company held jointly by Goldman Sachs (GS) Capital Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) & CO LP, will sell 10.7 million shares (about 10.8%) of KION Group AG to institutional investors.

Alexander Dibelius, head of GS Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe, and Johannes Huth, KKR's head of Europe, say in a joint statement: "KION has developed excellently since our investment in 2006 (Forkliftaction.com News #285). Weichai Power's investment and the IPO were essential milestones on the company's further growth path. The current share price speaks for itself. We benefit from this attractive market environment by selling a proportion of our stocks. KION has immense potential and we look forward to accompanying the company as major shareholders further on."

Superlift Holding will continue to hold about 37.8% of KION's equity capital.

KION Group head of communications Michael Hauger says that since the IPO in June 2013, the group's "very solid financing structure" has been comparable with typical listed companies.

According to Reuters data, a 10.8% stake would be worth about EUR330 million (USD450.2 million).

KION, which listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange about six months ago, is the world's second-largest forklift manufacturer after Japan's Toyota (Forkliftaction.com News #619).