The private equity branch of Hermes, an investment fund group, is now the leading candidate in the bid for the acquisition of U.K.'s Beacon Bingo Chain. The fund-management group, which has outlasted serious candidates such as the Australian bank Macquarie, is apparently holding exclusive talks with Thomas Holdings, owner of Beacon Bingo. The latter has reportedly agreed to sell the chain for approximately £80 million (~$150 million).

The agreement, if it ultimately comes trough, should be signed within three weeks. Hermes Private Equity is no stranger to the bingo world since it acquired earlier this year another U.K. bingo chain, Mayfair Bingo. Beacon currently boasts three bingo parlors across the U.K., in Loughborough, Northampton, and Cricklewood.