A salesperson talks to a potential customer at the Columbarium section of the Nirvana Memorial Park in Shah Alam, a Kuala Lumpur suburb, September 5, 2010. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad/File Photo
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SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is selling Malaysian funeral services company Nirvana Asia in a deal of up to $2 billion, three people familiar with the matter said. a source told Reuters.
The sale process, run by Morgan Stanley, has entered a second round of bidding, two people said.
Second-round suitors are primarily strategic buyers based outside of Asia, according to one of the people involved and another person familiar with the deal.
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An infrastructure fund is also included, one of the people said.
A fifth source said a binding bid is expected in the coming weeks. All sources were not identified as the information is confidential.
Nirvana did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CVC, Morgan Stanley and Nirvana founder David Kong declined to comment.
Betting on the growing demand for luxury funerals in the region, CVC acquired the business for $1.1 billion in 2016. CVC he attempted to sell two years later, but negotiations with many companies and private equity funds at the time fell through. A previous sales plan said:
Founded in 1990, Nirvana provides funeral, burial and cremation services for humans and pets. According to its website, it also has branches in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
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Reporting by Yantoulra Ngui from Singapore and Kane Wu from Hong Kong. Editing by Edwina Gibbs and David Evans
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