LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese food company Bright Food is in exclusive talks to buy Britain's United Biscuits for than 2 billion pounds ($3.13 billion), the Sunday Times reported.
Citing sources close to the deal, the newspaper said Shanghai-based Bright Foods had pre-empted a planned auction and was in secret talks to buy the maker of McVitie's and Twiglets for between 2 billion and 2.5 billion pounds.
Reuters reported in July that United Biscuits' owners, private equity firms Blackstone <BX.N> and PAI Partners, were considering selling.
Blackstone and Bright Food were not immediately available for comment.
U.S. food group Campbell Soup Co <CPB.N> was weighing a bid, a source told Reuters in August.
Bright Food, which recently lost a bidding war for Australian sugar refiner CSR <CSR.AX>, is being advised in the talks by Rothschild, the Sunday Times said.
(Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Louise Heavens)
