Nikko Principal Restarts BellSystem24 Sale (2)

Nikko Principal Investment Japan Ltd., a private-equity unit of Citigroup Inc. has narrowed its list of potential buyers for Bellsystem24 Inc to three overseas investment funds, according to Nikkei. US fund Bain Capital LLC, British fund Permira Advisors Ltd. and CVC Capital Partners, passed the first round of bidding, which ended Sep 1. Bellsystem24 logged revenue of 115.7 billion yen ($1.15 billion USD) and an operating profit of 13.7 billion yen ($137 million) for the fiscal year ended Feb 28. The acquisition price is expected to exceed 150 billion yen ($1.5 billion USD).