The owners of the RAC will next week launch a process expected to culminate in a £5bn sale or stock market listing of the breakdown recovery service later in 2026.
Sky News has learnt that the RAC’s shareholders have arranged a beauty parade of investment banks to take place in the coming days as they prepare to offload their investment.
The RAC, which was founded in 1897 as the Automobile Club of Great Britain, is owned by buyout firms CVC Capital Partners and Silver Lake Partners and the Singaporean state investment fund GIC.
It has about 15 million members.
The RAC shareholders’ plans to pursue an exit were revealed by Sky News last summer, with a public market listing understood to be their preferred option.
The AA is also backed by private equity investors who have appointed bankers to explore an exit.
Towerbrook Capital Partners, Warburg Pincus and Stonepeak, which collectively own the AA, have appointed JP Morgan and Rothschild to review the AA’s strategic options.
The RAC employs thousands of people and is one of Britain’s most recognisable consumer brands.
It is chaired by the former Debenhams chief Rob Templeman and run by chief executive Dave Hobday.
None of the RAC’s shareholders could be reached for comment on Friday.