Four private investment houses have put in a bid for retail chain Hema, which owner Maxeda is hoping to sell for €1bn, the Financieele Dagblad (FD) reports. The paper says Gilde, 3i, Charterhouse and Lion Capital are all interested in Hema and have been allowed access to its books.

The most ‘Dutch’ of the bidders is Gilde which has hooked up with NPM, Jaap Blokker’s investment fund Breedinvest and Paul Schouwenaar who comes from the Zeeman textiles group. 3i has joined forces with Roland Kahn, owner of fashion chain Cool Cat. Maxeda wants to finalise the sale before July, says the FD.