FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Kion (DE:KGX) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (T:7011) are in talks to buy Japanese forklift truck maker UniCarriers for up to 100 billion yen (564 million pounds), a source familiar with the matter said, confirming a Nikkei report.
UniCarriers is strong in Japan and in the United States where Kion, which has been steadily growing through acquisitions over the past years, has only a small presence.
It made sales of 175 billion yen in fiscal 2013.
Kion, the world's biggest forklift truckmaker after Toyota Industries (T:6201), is strong in Europe, China and South America and in the premium segment of the forklift truck market, while UniCarriers is stronger in mass-market forklifts.
A spokesman for Kion declined to comment on the report.
Kion owns brands including Linde, Still and Baoli as a result of its takeovers, and allows the companies it buys to keep their own identity in a so-called multibrand strategy.
Shares in Kion were up 0.4 percent to 38.60 euros by 9:30 a.m.