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Christie's: Going, going ...
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December 15, 1997: 8:46 a.m. ET
Mystery bidder close to emerging with $828.7 million offer, report says
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The mystery bidder for famed-auction house Christie's International Plc is about to be unmasked.
Christie's is expected to reach an agreement with investment bank SBC Warburg Dillon Read to be sold for 500 million pounds ($828.7 million), the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
SBC Warburg, a unit of Swiss Bank Corp., is seeking approval of Christie's board before it formalizes the offer. Directors met Sunday to discuss the bid, according to the Journal, which based its report on people familiar with the matter.
Both Christie's and SBC Warburg declined to comment.
SBC Warburg was the mysterious suitor that approached Christie's two weeks ago but came away empty-handed when its bid was rejected as too low.
To ensure its success, SBC Warburg has also negotiated with Christie's largest shareholder, Joseph Lewis -- the British billionaire who has built up a 27.5 percent stake since 1995, the Journal reported.
Any deal with a financial powerhouse such as Swiss Bank, which is in talks about a link-up with Union Bank of Switzerland, could give the London-based auction house a edge over its New York-based rival, Sotheby's Holdings Inc.
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Christie's
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