China Merchants agrees in principle to buy Wing Lung

HONG KONG, May 30 (Reuters) - China Merchants Bank (3968.HK) has agreed in principle to buy control of Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank 0096.HK in a deal that would value the lender at more than $4.5 billion, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The person, who could not be identified given the sensitivity of the situation, said no deal had been signed and negotiations were ongoing.

Shares in both lenders were suspended on Friday morning, pending the announcement of potentially price-sensitive information.

The source said China Merchants had tentatively agreed to pay more than HK$150 a share for Wing Lung. Wing Lung shares ended at HK$147.40 on Thursday, giving the bank a market value of about $4.4 billion. (Reporting by Kennix Chim; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)