Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong Bank Bhd. and U.S. buyout firm TPG Capital Management LP are among a group of investors in advanced talks to buy Asian hospital group Columbia Asia Sdn. Bhd., The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News reported separately, both citing unnamed sources.

The potential deal could value Columbia Asia's business at US$1.2 billion, excluding the India operations, according to Bloomberg.

Columbia Pacific Management had been considering selling the Malaysia-based hospital group for as much as US$2 billion, the news wire had reported in November.

Columbia Asia operates 18 medical facilities in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, and 11 in India.