UK's New Look for sale, up to 2 bln stg - papers
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - The private equity owners of New Look have put the British fashion retailer up for sale in a deal that may be worth as much as 2 billion pounds ($3.9 billion), the Times reported on Friday.
The Financial Times said Apax [APAX.UL] and Permira [PERM.UL], the major shareholders in the clothes store chain, were getting ready to put New Look up for sale.
The pair have hired U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch to run the sale after they received a number of approaches, according to both the Financial Times and the Times.
Potential bidders included private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts [KKR.UL], CVC [CVC.UL], Bain Capital, Texas Pacific Group (TPG) [TPG.UL] and Cinven CINV.UL, the FT said.
The Times named TPG and Warburg Pincus [WP.UL].
Both newspapers also said Landmark Group based in Dubai was thought to be keen on bidding.
Permira and Apax aimed to complete a deal within weeks, according to the FT. Neither newspaper quoted a source.
A comment was not immediately available from Apax, Permira or New Look.
Phil Wrigley, New Look chief executive, confirmed at the start of the month he was considering his options, which included the possible exit of private equity partners or a listing on the stock market.
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