The world's greatest operator of city-based sightseeing excursions is being put up on the market in a deal that may very well be valued at about £600m.

Sky News has learnt that Big Bus Tours, whose open-top autos are a well-known sight in places resembling London, Paris and Hong Kong, might change arms throughout the subsequent 12 months.

City sources mentioned on Wednesday that Exponent Private Equity, which has owned the enterprise since 2015, had employed Bank of America to advise on a sale.

Big Bus Tours is alleged to be extraordinarily worthwhile, with demand rebounding strongly because the pandemic.

It additionally trades in cities together with Dubai, Istanbul, New York and San Francisco.

The firm was fashioned in 2011 from the merger of UK-based Big Bus Company and Paris-headquartered Les Cars Rouges.

Exponent's acquisition of the enterprise was reported on the time to have valued it at about £300m.

A minority stake in Big Bus Tours is owned by Merlin Entertainments, the multinational theme park operator which owns Chessington World of Adventures and Madame Tussauds.

Sources mentioned different buyout corporations had been anticipated to look at provides for the corporate.

Exponent declined to remark.

Content Source: information.sky.com