(Bloomberg) -- A Warburg Pincus-backed investor group is in advanced talks to acquire 58.com Inc. in a deal valuing China’s biggest online classifieds firm at more than $8 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The consortium could announce a deal to buy New York-listed 58.com as soon as this week, in what’s set to be one of the largest take-private transactions this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

The bidding group also includes private-equity firms General Atlantic and Ocean Link Partners as well as 58.com Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jinbo Yao. The consortium is finalizing the details of the transaction with the company’s independent board committee including the final price of the offer, and has secured financing for the acquisition led by Chinese banks, the people said.

The final offer could be slightly higher than the group’s initial all-cash proposal to buy the company’s outstanding American depositary shares for $55 each, the people said.

A formal agreement for the business, known as China’s answer to Craigslist, would follow more than two months of negotiations after 58.com’s announcement in April that it received the proposal from Ocean Link. At $55 per ADR, the company would be valued at about $8.2 billion, according to Bloomberg News calculations.

Company founder Yao effectively controls about 42% of the company’s voting power through its dual-class shareholding structure, according to regulatory disclosures. Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. owns a greater number of shares, but controls about 28% of the voting power.

The take-private proposal has drawn objections from some minority investors including Coronation Fund Managers, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Carmignac Gestion, citing issues including that the bid “significantly undervalues the business.”

The negotiations could still be delayed or fall apart and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Representatives for 58.com and General Atlantic did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Warburg Pincus, Ocean Link and Tencent declined to comment.

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