First round bids for Government's chemist expected next week...

Here's an interesting snippet regarding a takeover situation I wrote about for the Mail on Sunday in August.

I understand the £700 million auction for LGC - which acts the British Government's chemist - is about kick off in earnest.

For readers that don't recall, I wrote a couple of months ago that LGC's owner, Bridgepoint, had hired bankers from JP Morgan Cazenove and HSBC to find a buyer for the testing group. Here is a link to that piece in the Mail on Sunday:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3199346/Forensic-science-group-LGC-grabs-700m-Massive-return-DNA-tester-privatised-3m-1996.html

That piece was treated with howls of derision by trade press journalists who followed it up and reported there is/was no sale process.

But sources tell me the sale process timetable has started and first round bids are due in on October 23rd.

A string of private equity firms, including CVC Capital Partners, have been taking a look so I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up as another buy-out.