EQT, the private equity firm backed by Sweden's Wallenberg family, has begun the $3 billion-plus sale of burglar alarm firm Securitas Direct, people familiar with the matter said. Securitas Direct could interest both rival private equity investors and large listed companies with security operations, including Stanley Black & Decker Inc (SWK.N), Tyco (TYC.N) and United Technologies Corp (UTC) (UTX.N), some of the people said. Bidders are now receiving information memorandums on the business and must submit indicative bids next month, the people said. EQT hopes it could fetch as much as 20 billion Swedish crowns ($3.3 billion), or more, two of the people added. The auction comes three years after EQT acquired Securitas Direct, which claims a fifth of Europe's monitored alarm market, selling security systems to homes and businesses in nine European countries. The potential sale was reported by the Wall Street Journal in March.
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