HONG KONG, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Permira has emerged as the preferred bidder to buy Bank of East Ltd's 0023.HK share registry unit Tricor Holdings for between $750 million and $800 million, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
No deal has been signed yet but Permira and Bank of East Asia are in advanced talks to reach an agreement, the people said.
Reuters reported on Monday that Bank of East Asia has secured about five final bids, including offers from Vistra Group, Ping An Insurance Group of China 601318.SS and Permira Group among others. bid would value Tricor at about 15 times its core earnings, which totalled about $55 million last year. Bank of East Asia and Permira declined to comment. Sources declined to be identified as the deal details are not public.