French Bank BNP Paribas has made a £600m bid for Kwik-Fit, the Ford-owned car repair network.

The price would mean Ford loses £400m in the deal – it paid Kwik-Fit founder Sir Tom Farmer £1bn for the business in 1999. The company will be hoping that three other interested parties – private equity groups Apax, CVC and Permira – decide to enter rival bids, which would push up the price.

Ford is also expected to retain a stake in the company to benefit from any future sale.

Paribas has a stake in Belron, the European glass repair/replacement company which owns Autoglass. If its bid is successful, the company could combine Kwik-Fit, with 2,400 outlets, with Autoglass to create a powerful aftersales chain. This move would quicken Kwik-Fit's expansion in mainland Europe.