Private equity firms bid for Elan’s drug business

SEVERAL private equity companies have submitted bids for Elan Corp’s drug technology business, sources familiar with the situation have told the Dow Jones Newswires service.

US heavyweights Bain Capital and TPG are two of the buyout shops that put in first-round bids by last Friday’s deadline, according to reports. Warburg Pincus may also be interested. The business on sale could bring in as much as €900 million.

Elan has hired Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to run the auction process.