INTERVIEW-Arcandor seeks Quelle IPO, has bids on Neckermann

ESSEN, Germany, July 17 (Reuters) - Germany's Arcandor AG (AROG.DE), formerly known as KarstadtQuelle, could sell or list its Quelle mail-order arm in addition to its Neckermann mail-order division, the chief executive of the German tourism and retail group told Reuters on Tuesday.

The company has already received bids for a sale or initial public offering (IPO) of Neckermann, Thomas Middelhoff said in an interview at the firm's headquarters.

"We have indicative bids already in. We plan to reach a decision within weeks," said Middelhoff, who next week will be in Paris and Dublin conducting a roadshow for investors.

He declined to comment on how much money the bidders are offering for the Neckermann unit, which has received interest from European and U.S. investors. Arcandor plans to sell or list Neckermann by the first quarter of next year.

Middelhoff also said a sale or stock market listing of Quelle, the largest part of Arcandor's Primondo mail-order division, could happen by the end of 2008.

"By the end of 2008, Arcandor will exist as three big parts: Karstadt with a majority owned by Arcandor and the rest on the stock market, and the same thing is valid for Primondo and Thomas Cook."

Arcandor owns 52 percent of British tourism firm Thomas Cook (TCG.L).

((Reporting by Rajiv Sekhri, Frankfurt Newsroom, Reuters Messaging rm:/rajiv.sekhri.reuters.com@reuters.net +49 69 7565 1244, rajiv.sekhri@reuters.com)) Keywords: ARCANDOR PRIMONDO/

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