(Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc <KKR.N> is exploring the "full or partial" sale of its Hitachi Kokusai chip equipment unit and has attracted the interest of two Chinese buyers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The sources did not reveal the names of the potential Chinese buyers but said that one was a large industrial company and the other a state-backed fund. The report did not estimate a value for the deal but said KKR would be selling at a profit.
Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Hitachi Kokusai was bought by KKR in December 2017 in a $2.2 billion (1.68 billion pounds) deal.
Responding to a request for comment, KKR said it cannot comment on market speculation.
Hitachi Kokusai did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
