Deutsche Telekom to pick Scout24 buyer from 4 bidders - magazine

Reuters
The logo of Deutsche Telekom is pictured on the 266 metre high "Colonia" TV tower in the western German city of Cologne March 25, 2013. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

BERLIN (Reuters) - German phone company Deutsche Telekom will pick a buyer for its online classified advertising business Scout24 from four private equity firms, Focus magazine reported on Saturday. Bidders Apax, Silver Lake, Hellman & Friedman and TPG Capital must submit final bids by the end of October, the weekly magazine said, without citing a source. The price range for Scout24 continues to be 1.5-2.0 billion euros (1.26 billion pounds-1.6 billion pounds), according to Focus. A spokesman for Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. German publisher Axel Springer has dropped out of the race but was still hoping to get the nod, the magazine said, citing unnamed sources in the industry. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; editing by Ron Askew)