Six bidders progress to Springer second round

By Simon Meads and Victoria Howley

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - A field of six suitors is through to the second round of bidding for a minority stake in publisher Springer Science and Business Media [SPSBM.UL], sources familiar with the process said.

Private equity group Apax Partners is one of bidders for the German academic publisher through to the second round, as is its U.S. counterpart TPG [TPG.UL], the sources said.

A consortium of buy-out houses Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] and Providence have also progressed to the second round of the process, another source said.

Two trade buyers and a further unnamed private equity firm are the remaining bidders that have gone through.

(Editing by Douwe Miedema)