Peregrine scout for buyers

HONG KONG, January 13: Failed Hong Kong investment bank Peregrine Investments Holdings Company Limited said on Tuesday it was in talks with potential buyers for some of its units, after naming a liquidator. Peregrine chairman Philip Tose said that he and his co-founder Francis Leung were talking with a number of major companies who were interested in buying the firm’s equities group.

Tose earlier named international accounting firm Price Waterhouse as the liquidators of Peregrine, which decided to fold on Monday after failing to find a rescuer. Price Waterhouse partner David Hay said: “The situation is very fluid. It is changing minute by minute. There have been lots of expresssions of interest in parts of the group.” Some 700 staff at Peregrine had pinned their hopes on buyers. Francis Leung, Peregrine’s co-founder, was earlier reported to be leading a bid to buy back the firm’s core business with a Chinese partner.