Lion Capital Said in Exclusive Talks to Buy Afflelou

Lion Capital LLP has entered exclusive talks to buy the French eyeglass retailer Alain Afflelou SA from its private equity owners Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd. and Apax Partners LLP, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Lion Capital last week offered about 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) as it vied with Bain Capital for the asset, one of the people said. The buyout is set to be France’s largest private equity deal so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.