According to sources close to Aramark Corp., the company had selected a list of bankers to lead its initial public offering. Aramark is a stadium concessions provider and is one of the biggest closely held companies in the U.S.
The Philadelphia-based firm has primarily tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to organize the public shares offering. The market debut will also receive assistance from investment banks Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Credit Suisse Group AG, the sources said. The sources said that the company may file its official paperwork for the offering in early August. They warn, however, that the timing might still change. Earlier in July, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Aramark was in initial talks with its analysts and several banks regarding a potential shares offering.
This initial public offering could be Aramark's third in its history. Joseph Neubauer, the company's chairman, in 1984 led a management buyout that was designed to fend off a hostile acquisition attempt. The chief executive afterwards helped take the company back again to public ownership in 2001. A 2007 buyout with a consortium of private-equity firms, however, caused the firm to become private again.
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