HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - European

investment company Permira has begun the process for the sale of

its 50% stake in Asian aquatic food provider Grobest, targeting

a valuation of about $1 billion for the Taiwan-based company,

said three sources close to the matter.

Permira, which manages about 80 billion euros ($85.28

billion) of global assets under private equity and credit funds,

has hired Morgan Stanley ( MS ) to run the process, expecting

non-binding bids by the end of the first week in May, one of the

sources and a fourth person said.

A company backed by Permira funds acquired a 50% stake in

Grobest in 2018 for an undisclosed sum. One of the sources said

the stake cost Permira about $400 million.

A shareholder group led by Grobest's CEO and chairman holds

the remaining 50% and could be open to sell its stake in the

sale, which would result in the buyer controlling the company,

said two of the sources, who all declined to be named because

the information is confidential.

Grobest does not disclose its financial performance on its

website but its expected annual revenue is about $1 billion, one

of the sources said.

London-headquartered Permira, and Morgan Stanley ( MS ) declined to

comment. Grobest did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment.

Founded in Taiwan in 1974, Grobest focuses on research and

development of natural, antibiotic-free feed products for

environmentally friendly and sustainable aquaculture.

The company now has over 3,000 employees, with offices and

operations in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the

Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, its website says.

Permira has been investing in Asia for 19 years, having

deployed more than $4.5 billion in the region. Besides Grobest,

its current investments in Asia include Australia' largest

diagnostic imaging services firm I-MED and Hong

Kong-headquartered aircraft part and services company Topcast,

its website showed.

(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Yantoultra Ngui in

Singapore; Editing by David Goodman and Muralikumar

Anantharaman)