Apollo in exclusive talks to buy McGraw-Hill education: source

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) is in exclusive talks to buy the education unit of McGraw-Hill Companies Inc MHP.N, a person familiar with the matter said, in a deal that could be worth about $3 billion.

The private equity firm has prevailed over two other bidders that also pursued a deal for McGraw-Hill Education - Cengage Learning Inc and buyout firm Bain Capital LLC - the person said on Tuesday.

The three parties submitted final bids for the McGraw-Hill unit in late October, the person and other people familiar with the matter said.

The people asked not to be named because details of the auction are not public. McGraw-Hill and Apollo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. News of the exclusive talks was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)