International private equity houses Blackstone, Cinven, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira and Providence Equity have been named in the financial press as the members of a consortium bidding for Portugal Telecom (PT). The naming of the consortium could bring closer a possible bidding war with Sonae, the Portuguese conglomerate that made a EUR11.1 billion offer for PT earlier this year. Other potential bidders touted in the press include Spanish telecoms group Telefónica, which already holds 10% of PT, and investment groups Apollo Management, Apax and Carlyle. Industry experts believe a deal is unlikely to be completed until the autumn.