Buyout Deals

A consortium of investors that includes Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has closed the purchase of KION Group, the Germany-based forklift division of Linde AG. The price was 4 billion Euro ($5.2 billion). With 20,000 employees, KION Group generated sales of about 3.6 billion Euro ($4.7 billion) in its 2005 fiscal year. The company sells forklift trucks and warehouse equipment under the brand names Linde, STILL and OM. www.kiongroup.com

The largest shareholder in Chinatrust Financial Holding Co., owner of Taiwan’s largest private bank, is looking to sell a portion of its stake to investors, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal Asia. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Fobon Financial Holding Co. and The Carlyle Group are reportedly among the parties interested in talking to the Koo family of Taiwan. A source quoted in the story estimated the size of the stake to be sold at around 10% to 20% of the company, which has a market capi talization of an estimated $7.2 billion. www.chinatrust.com