LONDON (AFX) - Yell Group PLC, publisher of Britain's Yellow Pages, is the sole remaining bidder for TPI, the Spanish directories group that is being sold by its majority owner Telefonica SA, the Financial Times reported Saturday.
Telefonica's sale of its 59.9 pct stake is expected to trigger an offer to all shareholders in Madrid-listed Telefonica Publicidad e Informacion SA at the same price offered to Telefonica.
US buy-out groups Carlyle and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts dropped out of the auction last week, while interest from World Directories of the Netherlands -- owned by private equity groups Apax and Cinven -- is thought to have cooled, the FT said.
Telefonica is due to update the market next Friday on whether it plans to proceed with the sale. rob.branch@afxnews.com rhb/ak COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited