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Revealed: China-backed private equity firm holds secret talks about purchasing Mergermarket Group - sources

XIO Group, a private equity firm backed by funds from mainland China, has held tentative discussions with BC Partners about buying Mergermarket Group, the online deals news and data service read by thousands of dealmakers around the world.

According to several sources close to the situation, XIO has had prelminary discussions with both BC Partners executives and also members of the Mergermarketmanagement team. It's understood discussions were highly preliminary, aren't particularly advanced and it's not clear whether BC Partners is willing to engage in further talks with XIO Group.

XIO, whose headquarters are in the Shard in London, is said to be one of number of private equity firms that are trying to strike a deal with BC Partners before it engages an investment bank to formally carry out a "strategic review" of Mergermarket, which owns other news services such as Debtwire.

Bloomberg reported in June this year that US buy-out shops Carlyle, which owns rival deals database Dealogic, and Hellman & Friedman both made approaches to BC Partners for Mergermarket.com but talks failed to progress because of differences over valuation of the business. Two sources familiar with the situation said EQT, the owner of Bureau van Dijk, has also shown an interest in buying Mergermarket.

Bankers following the situation said they expect BC Partners to appoint an adviser next year to carry out a "strategic review" of Mergermarket. The company could be sold for around £800 million, said one banker.

However, people close to the private equity firm claimed any deal would likely see the company sold for between £800 million and £1 billion.

One source close to the situation said the BC Partners has no plans to sell Mergermarketin 2017. The private equity firm, though, might be willing to offload Mergermarket if a buyer offered a "2018" price, said the source.

BC Partners paid £382 million to Pearson, publisher of the Financial Times, for Mergermarket in 2014 and since then has carried out several bolt-on acquisitions, including the purchase of Creditflux.

Although XIO is not as well established as Carlyle or Hellman & Friedman sources said it's seen a genuine buyer as it has already carried out several major acquistions, including the $1.1 billion purchase of data company J D Power & Associates from McGraw Hill Financial. One person familiar with the situation described XIO as the only potential bidder for Mergermarket with a "credible long-term strategy for the company"...