(Reuters) - Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley (MS.N) may sell its 34.3 percent stake in China International Capital Corp (CICC), China's top investment bank, to four parties including two private equity firms, a state newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Reuters reported in February that Morgan Stanley was in late stage talks to sell its CICC stake to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co KKR.UL and TPG Capital TPG.UL for more than $1 billion.
Citing unidentified sources, China's Securities Times, a state-owned newspaper, said that as well as KKR and TPG, an existing foreign shareholder of CICC and a foreign insurance company are potential buyers of the stake.
CICC has won regulatory approval for Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to sell its stake in CICC, paving the way for the long-planned divestment.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on November 26 approved CICC's application for the share holding change that involved a stake of more than 5 percent in the company, the regulator said this week.
CSRC did not state the name of the shareholder involved, but in an emailed response to a Reuters query, a CICC spokeswoman said: "In regard to the CSRC's announcement of ownership changes at CICC, we do not deny that it has to do with Morgan Stanley."
