GIC buys stake in UK roadside rescue business from Carlyle

[SINGAPORE] Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC is buying a stake in the UK's second largest roadside rescue business RAC from Washington-based private equity firm Carlyle Group, which will result in both co-owning a majority stake in the firm.

The deal, expected to be done by year-end, also means that Carlyle's plan to float RAC in London in a transaction which reportedly valued the firm at £2 billion (S$4.15 billion), is no longer on the cards for now.

In a joint statement, Carlyle said it entered a pact with GIC to jointly own a majority stake in the British roadside recovery group which has some eight million roadside members, with RAC Management holding the remaining shares.