CHINESE Estates Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong developer controlled by brothers Joseph and Thomas Lau, halted the trading of its shares yesterday, extending a buyout tussle between its two largest shareholders, Bloomberg News said.

The Children's Investment Fund Management Ltd, which holds 7.9 percent of Chinese Estates, is in talks with private-equity and hedge funds to buy out a 54.4 percent combined stake owned by the Lau brothers, the South China Morning Post said yesterday. Chinese Estates' spokeswoman Alison Yeung declined to comment.

TCI, as London-based Children's Investment Fund is called, is fighting a HK$30 billion (US$3.8 billion) plan by the brothers to take Chinese Estates private. TCI may bid for the Laus' stake with Och Ziff Capital Management LP and others, the newspaper said.