Istithmar's Sale Of ISS In Trouble On DoJ Probe -Sources

18th Jun 2010 14:09

By Marietta Cauchi and Jessica Hodgson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The sale of Inchcape Shipping Services by Istithmar has been postponed because bidders believe the company is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Friday. Istithmar, part of the heavily indebted Dubai World, put the port and shipping agent up for sale in April and hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) to run the process. The sale attracted a large number of buyout firms and final bids were initially expected from five bidders before a May 28 deadline, with bids seen reaching as high as $800 million. However Carlyle Group LP, General Atlantic LLC, and Canadian pension fund Omers all dropped out of the process because of the lack of due diligence available and in particular because of the alleged Dept. of Justice probe, people said. London-based CVC Capital Partners and Cinven Group were the only remaining bidders but were also frustrated at the lack of information, they added. Inchcape Shipping Services failed to respond to repeated email requests seeking comment. -By Marietta Cauchi and Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 18, 2010 09:09 ET (13:09 GMT)