Italy's wealthy Benetton family could make around €1.8bn ($2.2bn) if they choose to sell out of their controlling stake in AutoGrill, the Italian motorway restaurant group that is understood to be attracting bid interest from Europe's largest buy-out firms.

A senior banker advising one of the buy-out firms circling AutoGrill said the restaurant group has appointed Lazard and Goldman Sachs to manage a sale of the business, which has operations in several European countries. Another banker said BC Partners was interested in the company. BC Partners declined to comment.