(Bloomberg) -- Samsonite International SA is considering options after receiving takeover interest from suitors including buyout firms, people familiar with the matter said.

The Hong Kong-listed luggage maker is working with advisers as it studies possibilities including going private, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. It has held preliminary discussions with a select group of suitors, according to the people. 

Some private equity firms have been studying a deal for Samsonite with the idea of acquiring the company and later relisting it in another market — like the US — at a higher valuation, the people said.

Shares in Samsonite surged as much as 18% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the most since March 2022, following the Bloomberg News report. The stock was up about 14% at the close, giving the company a market value of about HK$38 billion ($4.9 billion).

Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty Samsonite will decide to move forward with a transaction, according to the people. A representative for Samsonite declined to comment.

Samsonite, based in Mansfield, Massachusetts and Luxembourg, traces its roots back to 1910 and is known for the durable suitcases sold under its namesake brand. It also sells luggage and other travel accessories under brands including American Tourister, Tumi and High Sierra.

The company went public in Hong Kong in 2011 at a time when a number of Western consumer-goods makers, such as L’Occitane International SA and Prada SpA, were looking to tap affluent customers in China. However, Samsonite hasn’t been able to gain traction among investors in the Asian financial hub and last year studied the possibility of a second listing in the US, Bloomberg News has reported.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Samsonite’s plans to delist from Hong Kong, which Bloomberg reported as among options after the firm received takeover bids, signals the likelihood of smaller gains for its sales in the greater China region vs. other markets. Compared to 2019, Samsonite’s greater China sales gains over January-September 2023 already trailed that in Europe and North America.

-Analysts Catherine Lim and Trini Tan

--With assistance from Crystal Tse and Manuel Baigorri.

(Updates Samsonite’s share price in fourth paragraph and adds analyst comment in last paragraph.)

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