Private equity ups bid for Ireland's EBS-source

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Thursday January 20, 2011 04:53:19 AM GMT

DUBLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The private equity consortium bidding for EBS has upped the amount of cash it is willing to invest in the Irish building society to over 600 million euros, a source familiar with the process said on Tuesday.

Dublin-based Cardinal Asset Management was initially looking at injecting between 450 million and 600 million euros into EBS but raised that amount to take into account the additional capital the building society needs under an EU/IMF bailout package.

"They are offering a bit more up front," said the source, who declined to be identified.

Cardinal is receiving backing from the Carlyle Group and U.S. investor Wilbur Ross. The other bidder for EBS is bancassurer Irish Life & Permanent.

(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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