Carlyle set to buy $200 mln stake in Indonesia GarudaFood-sources

* Deal values GarudaFood at about $800 mln

* Deal marks Carlyle's first direct investment in Indonesia 

Private equity firm Carlyle Group is close to buying a 25 percent stake in Indonesian consumer firm GarudaFood for about $200 million, sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters on Sunday. 

The deal will mark Carlyle's first-ever direct investment in Indonesia, a country that has seen increased interest from buyout firms. Carlyle outbid Japanese beverage firm Suntory , sources added. The stake is being sold by Indonesia's family business Tudung Group.

Sources said Carlyle has been identified as the preferred bidder, though no formal agreement has yet been signed between the buyer and seller. 

GarudaFood sells instant food, peanuts and other snacks globally and the deal will value the whole company at about $800 million. 

Barclays Capital , which is the sale adviser, and Suntory declined comment. Carlyle did not return calls seeking a response. Tudung Group executives did not respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment. 

The sources declined to be identified as the deal is not yet public. 

Private equity deals in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, have picked up in the past year as intense competition in hot markets such as China and India encourages global buyout firms to push into fast-growing emerging markets in Southeast Asia. 

Rival buyout firms TPG Capital and CVC have already snapped up finance, resource and consumer plays in Indonesia. 

The sale had attracted interest from several foreign investors, including private equity firms 3i Group Plc and Unitas Capital, but only Carlyle and Suntory made it to the final bidding, sources previously told Reuters. 

Indonesia's consumer sector is attracting a lot of foreign investors as spending rises from an emerging middle class. Average salaries have risen by more than a quarter in the last three years, and the economy is seen posting growth over 6 percent again in 2011. 

Carlyle is also eyeing a stake in the hypermarket unit of Matahari Putra Prima , Indonesia's biggest retailer by market value, which has also been in talks with Wal-Mart Stores Inc to become a partner. 

The GarudaFood deal is the latest of a string of private equity acquisitions, coming after CVC paid a total of over $1 billion for a cable TV firm and a department store chain in the sprawling archipelago. Source: Reuters