Sources close to the process told Reuters that "first round of bids for Reed Elsevier's Reed Business Information unit is expected to range from $2 billion to $2.5 billion."
The deadline for bids in the UBS-run auction is Aug. 11. Bids are expected to come primarily from buyout shops, and early reports have listed Bain Capital, Advent International Corp., 3i Group plc, Candover Investments plc, Cinven Ltd., Providence Equity Partners Inc., Permira Advisers LLP and Apax Partners Worldwide LLP as likely participants.
However with leveraged debt financing still very hard to come by, Reed Elsevier may have trouble achieving its target. The seller has already had difficulty nailing down the staple financing for a sale and may have to offer its own top-up loan to sweeten the deal for the lenders. - George White
See Reuters story
See Dealscape post on the Reed Auction
See TheDeal.com story on the Reed Auction
