A group led by Chinese private equity firm HOPU Jinghua (Beijing) Investment Consultancy Co. Ltd. is in advanced talks to take a 15% stake in Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai for about $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources.

Zhuhai Gree Group Co. Ltd., which is backed by the Zhuhai City Government, owns 18.22% of Gree Electric and reportedly put a part of its stake up for sale in April. Negotiations for the stake are ongoing but a deal is not yet guaranteed, the sources said.

Based on share prices at market close on June 3, a 15% stake in the appliance-maker was valued at about 47.4 billion yuan.

Asset management firm Temasek Holdings (Pte.) Ltd. is part of the consortium, the report added.

In April, it was reported that Hopu was eyeing a minority stake in the Chinese appliance maker.

As of June 3, US$1 was equivalent to 6.90 Chinese yuan.