HAYNES Publishing has been sold to a French rival for more than £114m, the company has confirmed.
Infopro Digital has agreed to the deal, which will see shareholders paid 700p for every share they own, but it will still need to be voted through at a meeting in the coming weeks.
Haynes renowned for its range of car manuals and put itself up for sale last November.
At the time, bosses said they had spent the past five years re-establishing the company as an online business and believed now was the right time to leave the stock market and be run privately.
Infopro Digital founder and chief executive Christophe Czajka said: “With a deeply complementary product set and geographic footprint, the combined companies have an opportunity to serve our clients more effectively and to build on both organisations’ history of creating innovative, transformative products that the automotive industry has come to value.
“We are committed to working together to create a company that will continue to help define the future of automotive data.”
Eddie Bell, chairman of Haynes, said: “The Haynes board believes that the markets it serves have great potential for Haynes’ future growth and development, and that a combination with Infopro Digital will provide Haynes with the scale, capabilities and resources to ensure that it stays at the forefront of these markets and maximises its potential.”
John Haynes, who created the series of maintenance guides, died last February at the age of 80 after a short illness.