LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The shareholders of

Distilled, which owns popular property site Daft.ie, are

exploring options for their holdings including a possible sale

that could value the business at as much as 600 million euros

($662.82 million), four people with knowledge of the matter told

Reuters.

It would mark the first disposal by shareholder Adevinta

since it was taken private last year by a consortium of private

equity funds led by Permira and Blackstone.

The Norwegian classifieds group and Ireland's Distilled

Media Group, which jointly own Distilled, have hired Barclays to

advise on their holdings, said three of the people, speaking on

condition of anonymity.

Distilled was established in 2015 after the operations of

Daft.ie and its sister company, Adverts.ie, were merged with

Adevinta's Donedeal.ie.

Active discussions among the owners are underway about the

future shareholder structure of the business, one of the three

people said. Distilled Media might opt to maintain a stake in

the entity, but no decision has been made, this person added.

Distilled Media Group declined to comment. Adevinta did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

The talks come amid increased takeover activity among real

estate classified businesses. REA Group, an Australian property

listings company controlled by News Corp, this week announced it

is considering an offer for UK-listed Rightmove. UK private

equity firm Cinven in June bought Spain's Idealista in a 2.9

billion euro deal.

The owners are hoping that Distilled can fetch a valuation

up to 600 million euros in a sale, a second and third person

said.

Bidders could include private equity firms that could help

unlock growth from Distilled SCH and make it more efficient, the

second person added.

Daft.ie attracts 2.5 million users every month generating

228 million page impressions and lists about 70,000 properties

for sale or to rent on its site at any one time, according to

its website. It was founded in 1997 by brothers Eamonn and Brian

Fallon.

A consortium led by private equity firms Permira and

Blackstone last year agreed to take Adevinta off the stock

market for about 141 billion Norwegian crowns ($13.21 billion).

($1 = 0.9049 euros)

($1 = 0.9052 euros)

($1 = 10.6711 Norwegian crowns)