EUROPE - Real estate company DTZ has launched a formal sale process after it announced earlier this week that BNP Paribas would not acquire the firm. 

Following the announcement made by DTZ itself earlier this week that the company would not be taken over by BNP Paribas, a formal sale process has been implemented.

In a statement to the stock market, DTZ said the formal sale process aimed to ensure the long-term growth of the business, address the capital structure and provide funds for future investment.

According to DTZ, a certain number of parties have already sent preliminary indications of interest.

DTZ also stressed that any interested party participating in the process would not be required to be publicly identified, nor would it be subject to a 28-day requirement, contrary to the new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) regulations that came into effect in September.

These state that a company has to table an offer or withdraw its bid 28 days after announcing its intentions.

The real estate company was previously in talks with its major shareholder, Saint Georges Participations (SGP).

SGP, which owns 52% of DTZ, planned to acquire the remaining shares and sell the business to BNP Paribas.

However, SGP terminated talks with DTZ on Monday, saying that it had "decided not to proceed further with a possible offer".