Cerberus Capital Management LP is the preferred bidder for a property loan portfolio with a roughly €3 billion face value being sold by Ireland's National Asset Management Agency, The Irish Times reported Dec. 8.

A source told the newspaper that Cerberus will begin exclusive talks over the portfolio, which is dubbed Project Gem and will likely be sold at a significant discount. Cerberus beat out interest from Oaktree Capital Group LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to the report.

Cerberus has purchased a number of other NAMA portfolios, including one in Northern Ireland dubbed Project Eagle that has sparked a series of investigations, primarily over allegations of irregular payments.