(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm Permira is considering a sale of Tricor Group in a deal that could value the business and investor services provider at about $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Permira is in the early stages of evaluating a potential sale of Hong Kong-based Tricor, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Other buyout firms and companies in the industry could be interested in the asset, the people said. A formal sale process could start later this year, one of the people said.

Founded in 2000, Tricor provides business operations and corporate governance support including accounting, payroll and secretarial services for publicly-traded and closely-held companies, according to its website. It also offers investor and share registry services.

The company has a presence in 21 markets, mostly in Asia Pacific, as well as in countries such as the U.K. and the U.S. It provides investor and initial public offering services to about 2,000 companies listed in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and mainland China.

Permira bought Tricor in 2017 from Bank of East Asia Ltd. and NWS Holdings Ltd. for about HK$6.5 billion ($837 million).

Considerations are preliminary and Permira could still decide against pursuing a sale, the people said. A representative for Permira declined to comment.

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