By Arno Schuetze
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German defence group Rheinmetall (DE:RHMG) and French peer Thales (PA:TCFP) are among several groups interested in a defence electronics business that plane maker Airbus (PA:AIR) is selling in an effort to streamline its operations, sources familiar with the transaction said.
The two companies as well as U.S.-based Raytheon (N:RTN) and a number of private equity groups including Carlyle (O:CG), Bridgepoint, CVC, KKR (N:KKR), KPS and Triton are expected to hand in tentative offers for the Airbus business by a Friday deadline, they said.
The price tag on the sale, dubbed "Orlando", which is led by investment bank Evercore (N:EVR), may reach up to 1 billion euros (£705.6 million), the people said.
Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace group, is currently selling several businesses to focus its defence division on warplanes, missiles, launchers and satellites.
A Rheinmetall spokesman said the company was following the divestment activities of Airbus, declining to comment further.
The other companies and private equity investors all declined to comment.