MBK Partners emerges as sole bidder for KEB

Fund is the only bidder that submitted proposal of $4bln as rivals offered less than $3.3bln.

Private equity fund MBK Partners is the sole bidder which submitted a letter of intent to buy a $4 billion controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank, Yonhap news agency said on Monday.

Other potential bidders, including Australia's ANZ Banking Group and Asia-focused British bank Standard Chartered, did not submit proposals as they had failed to make progress after offering less than 4 trillion won ($3.3 billion), the report quoted an unnamed industry source as saying.

MBK Partners has been in talks for a joint bid with Japan's Nomura Holdings for a 51-percent stake in KEB offered by U.S. private equity fund Lone Star, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters this month.

But the sale of foreign exchange-focused KEB showed slow progress so far, as local bidders eyed a rival offer of a 57 percent stake in Woori Finance Holdings to be sold by the government.

View the full story in Reuters.