* Bright Food is a "serious candidate" - PAI
* Talks continue with significant number of candidates -PAI * PAI hopes to select Yoplait stake buyer by end-March
(Adds details from third source close to the situation)
By Dominique Vidalon and Noelle Mennella
PARIS, March 7 (Reuters) - The race to buy half of French yoghurt maker Yoplait has narrowed to six candidates, including highest bidder Chinese group Bright Food, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Private equity group PAI Partners said it was continuing talks with a significant number of candidates for its 50 percent stake in Yoplait. It hopes to pick a winner by the end of the month, a PAI spokesman said.
The stake could be worth around 800 million euros ($1.1 billion), a source close to the matter said.
"Bright Food remains a serious candidate to the purchase of PAI's stake but there is a significant number of other candidates with which talks are continuing," the PAI spokesman said.
A source close to the situation told Reuters Bright Food had made the highest offer, which values the whole of Yoplait at 1.75 billion euros or less than 12 times core earnings.
"The other offers are below that price," the source added.
Unlisted Yoplait has been in the spotlight since the summer, when PAI said it wanted to sell its 50 percent stake in the world's second-largest yoghurt maker after Danone.
Yoplait said last month it had received nine preliminary offers for the stake.
French farmers cooperative Sodiaal has pledged to keep the other half of the yoghurt group.
PAI would not say how many candidates were still in the race, but three sources told Reuters six groups were still in the running.
IN THE RACE
Potential buyers include Nestle, U.S.-based General Mills, French cheesemaker Bel, China's Bright Food, Mexico's Grupo Lala and private equity firm Axa Private Equity, the sources said.
Bel made the lowest offer, two sources said.
Other sources confirmed Bain Capital and Lion Capital were no longer involved in the process.
Both Nestle and General Mills declined to comment.
China's Mengniu is no longer in the race, while France's Lactalis was not invited into the process after its unsolicited 1.4 billion euro bid for the whole of Yoplait was rejected last year, another source said.
The source close to the matter told Reuters on Monday most bidders were in a tight range on price, valuing PAI's stake at around 800 million euros, "more or less 10 percent", and all had a good strategic reason to invest in Yoplait.
A second source said it was premature to talk of frontrunners on the basis of indicative bids.
"The onus is on Bright Food to prove they are serious," the source said.
Cash is not the sole consideration as the sale of a high-profile company like Yoplait is sensitive in France where the government is vigilant about protecting national brands, and in this case French farmers' contracts, from foreign takeovers.
The decision will also be made on issues such as the buyer's ability to work well with partner Sodiaal and the commitment to the Yoplait brand, PAI has said.
The main criteria for picking up a buyer will be "the price, the project and the ability to co-exist with Sodiaal," a source close to the situation said on Monday. (Additional reporting by Victoria Howley and Simon Meads in London with Silke Koltrowitz in Switzerland; Editing by James Regan and David Holmes) ($1=.7131 Euro)