MEICAI, a Chinese startup that helps farmers sell vegetables to restaurants, and supermarket operator Wumart Stores Inc. are among firms picked for the next round of bidding for German food wholesaler Metro AG’s US$1.5 billion Chinese business, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Local grocery chain Yonghui Superstores Co. and Suning Holdings Group, the parent company of Chinese electronics retailer Suning.com Co., were also invited to make second-round offers, Bloomberg News quoted the sources as saying yesterday. Bids are expected to be submitted by late May or early June, said the sources.

Meicai and Hopu Investment Management Co. are in talks for a potential joint bid. The startup is also considering partnering with other Chinese buyout firms, one of the sources said. Wumart has separately been weighing whether to team up with a private equity firm, another source said.

Metro kicked off its sale of a controlling stake in the Chinese unit in March and collected first-round bids earlier this month, Bloomberg News has reported. It is willing to sell as much as 80 percent of the Chinese business while retaining a significant minority if an attractive offer is made.

The German retailer joins other multinational consumer groups in rejigging its China business. McDonald’s Corp. sold control of its China operations to an investor group including conglomerate CITIC Ltd. for about US$1.7 billion in 2017. (SD-Agencies)