Wanda among potential bidders for Turkey's Mars

Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Wanda Cinema Line Co is among international companies that plan to bid for Turkey's biggest cinema chain, three people with knowledge of the plan said.

The owners of Mars Entertainment Group will start a formal sales process in March, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is not public. Other potential bidders are Seoul-based CJ CGV Co Ltd and companies from the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom and Japan.

Some private-equity firms also expressed an interest in the company, according to one of the people. The sales price could be as much as 12 times the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, plus debt, which may value it at about 2.4 billion liras ($800 million).