Lone Star Funds, a Dallas-based private equity house which specialises in Asian investments, has appointed Citigroup to lead an auction of its 50.5% share of Korea Exchange Bank. The sale could value the stake at approximately 4.8 trillion won (€4bn).

Lone Star bought the controlling stake in Korea Exchange, the country's fifth-largest bank, in 2003 for 1.4 trillion won. A successful exit will mean a profit of almost €3bn for Lone Star.