According to Reuters, among those moving forward in the process are Bain
Capital LLC, the Carlyle Group, MBK Partners, TPG Capital, Providence
Equity Partners LLC, Apax Partners and Macquarie Group Ltd. The buyout arm of
Goldman, Sachs & Co. is also rumored to be contemplating joining
with TPG in its bid. The auction is expected to command more than $2.5
billion.
The Hong Kong fixed-line telecom company PCCW is
spinning out its
telecom services, media and IT services units into a new entity, HKT
Group Holdings. It will then divest a 45% stake to third parties.
Although a lack of access to debt financing has made it harder for
private equity bidders to get into auctions in the U.S. and Europe,
buyout shops face significantly less headwind in Asia where the debt
markets have not seized up. -
George WhiteSee Reuters storySee Dealscape post on the auctionSee auction story on TheDeal.com
