Onex said to be in talks to buy Warburg Pincus’s Survitec

Onex Corp. is in talks to acquire Warburg Pincus LLC's Survitec Group Ltd., a maker of safety and survival equipment, for about $704-million (U.S.), according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.

Canada's largest private-equity firm and Warburg Pincus are negotiating a price for the Southampton, England-based company, and an agreement may be reached before the end of the year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Should Onex complete the deal, it would be the company's second in Europe this year following its acquisition of Swiss juice-carton maker SIG Combibloc Group AG last month. Warburg Pincus has owned Survitec since 2010.

Survitec, which provides life-support services and makes makes safety products, including rescue boats, fire extinguishers and survival suits, bought fellow equipment maker Brude Safety AS from Norway's Koppernaes AS in November 2013 for an undisclosed sum, according to the company's website.

Spokeswomen for Onex and Warburg Pincus declined to comment, and a spokesman for Survitec didn't respond to telephone and e-mail requests seeking comment.