UK private equity firm 3i keen to sell assets to yield-hungry investors

(Recasts, adds comment, detail)

By Freya Berry

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - British private equity firm 3i Group said strong market valuations had cleared the way for further disposals after it raised 245 million pounds ($371 million) from sales of investments in the final quarter of last year.

The owner of luxury lingerie firm Agent Provocateur and women's clothing chain Hobbs said its sale of German automotive supplier Hilite and further sales of stakes in several listed U.S. investments had brought its total to 569 million pounds in the nine months to Dec. 31.

"There's an awful lot of capital out there that's desperate to get decent yields and we're benefiting from that on the realisation side," Group Finance Director Julia Wilson told reporters on a conference call.

The group has hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) to sell Agent Provocateur, while the auction for Dutch soft drinks bottler Refresco Gerber is expected to complete in less than a month. Sources have told Reuters the business has attracted bids from three private equity funds, valuing it at around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion).

3i said it had also invested 275 million pounds over the period, its financial third quarter, including 173 million pounds in German jewellery chain Christ.

Diluted net asset value per share rose 5 percent to 375 pence, helped by earnings growth of 15 percent among its private equity investments. A strong dollar helped forex gains to 16 million pounds, helping offset losses in the first half of the year.

Since the end of the third quarter 3i has refinanced star investment Action, a Dutch discount chain, which provided the group with a 102 million-pound windfall in January. Last week, its infrastructure arm sold its stake in the UK's Eversholt Rail Group to Asian billionaire Li Ka-shing's CKI group.

3i said in November it expected to pay a minimum total dividend of 15 pence a share for the financial year ended March 31 2015. ($1 = 0.6603 British Pounds) ($1 = 0.8856 Euros) (Editing by Greg Mahlich and David Holmes)