Citic-Carlyle near deal to buy McDonald's China assets: source

The deal is likely to be signed before Christmas, the source said.

Reuters had reported in October that U.S. buyout firms Carlyle and Bain Capital LLC had been the front runners among the bidders for the fast-food giant's China assets.

McDonald's in March said it was reorganizing operations in Asia, bringing in partners as it switches to a less capital-intensive franchise model.

The company hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of about 2,400 restaurants in China and Hong Kong.

Financial Times reported earlier on Wednesday that Bain Capital had dropped out of the race, and that a group led by Citic Group and Carlyle were the front runners to the deal.

Carlyle declined to comment, while McDonald's was not immediately available for a comment.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong and Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)