Sweden’s EQT ‘best suited’ to take over Kuoni

The Zurich-based firm has been undergoing a major restructuring for the past year, and acknowledged earlier this month that it had been approached by potential buyers.
   
“Kuoni Group's Board of Directors confirms that EQT has emerged as the preferred party from a competitive process regarding a potential takeover offer for the Kuoni Group and other strategic options,” the company said in a statement late on Thursday.
   
“Final negotiations with EQT for a potential takeover offer for Kuoni Group are in progress,” it said.
   
Kuoni said though that “at this stage, no final decisions have been taken and there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.”
   
The announcement came after the Swiss company saw its shares skyrocket 6.7 percent to 334 Swiss francs apiece in trading on Thursday, as the SPI index slumped 1.76 percent, after Bloomberg reported that a deal with EQT was near.