Banks plan exclusive talks on Italy's ICBPI sale in May - sources

MILAN, April 8 (Reuters) - The owners of Italy's Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari (ICBPI) plan to enter exclusive talks in May with the preferred bidder for the 2-billion euro ($2.2 billion) banking services provider, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday.

Three groups of international investors are interested in buying ICBPI, which earns fees on payment, clearing and credit card services provided to its owners -- a group of Italian cooperative banks.

The bidders have until May 10 to look into the books, the sources said.

The bidders are a consortium comprising Advent International, Bain Capital and Clessidra; a group including BC Partners and Cinven, and a team consisting of Permira and CVC Capital Partners, sources told Reuters last week.

The 11 "popolari" banks that own ICBPI, led by Credito Valtellinese, have opted to sell what is a profitable asset due to regulatory pressure to beef up their capital bases.

The two sources said the banks planned to announce the outcome of negotiations when presenting first-half results in the summer.

Completion is expected towards the end of the year due to regulatory clearance.

One of the two sources said the owners would retain a stake of between 10 and 20 percent in ICBPI. A third source said the banks would keep a holding of at least 10 percent.

Such a move would reassure the prospective buyer the cooperative banks will continue to buy ICBPI's services. ($1 = 0.9250 euros) (Reporting by Massimo Gaia, Valentina Za and Francesca Landini; editing by Susan Thomas)