TPG Capital-backed China Grand Auto halts up to $800 mln HK IPO-IFR

HONG KONG, Oct 23 (Reuters) - China Grand Automotive Services, the country's largest car dealership, has decided to put on hold an up to $800 million Hong Kong initial public offering, IFR reported on Thursday, citing a source with direct knowledge of the plans. China Grand Auto, backed by private equity firm TPG Capital , won't launch the IPO in 2014 and is also considering whether to list in China's domestic stock market instead, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. China Grand Auto didn't have an immediate comment on the IPO plans, according to a company spokeswoman in Shanghai contacted by Reuters. China International Capital Corp (CICC) and Goldman Sachs are the lead banks on the China Grand Auto IPO, IFR said. (Reporting by Fiona Lau and Ken Wang of IFR; Additional reporting by Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)