India UTI to sell 10-12pct stake for $200mln-paper

MUMBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - UTI Asset Management, India's second-largest mutual fund firm, plans to sell a 10-12 percent stake to an international investor for about $200 million, ahead of its initial public offering, the Economic Times said.

About half a dozen firms including Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Lehman Brothers LEH.N, Warburg Pincus [WP.UL], Singapore's GIC and Japan's Shinsei Bank (8303.T) are in the race, the newspaper said on Wednesday.

Shortlisted suitors will submit final bids by end of the week, and the deal is expected to be finalised "very soon", it said, citing sources close to the development.

A spokeswoman for UTI AMC did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

UTI Asset Management, which recently filed a draft prospectus to raise about $500 million from an IPO, has said it aimed to sell a 20 percent stake ahead of the offering, the first by an Indian asset manager.

Its chairman said last year companies from the United States, Europe and Australia were among 15 firms competing for the stake.

Last month, investment group Eton Park paid $127 million for 5 percent in the asset management arm of Reliance Capital Ltd (RLCP.BO), the country's biggest. (Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)