LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Hedge fund Och-Ziff has emerged as the buyer of TPG's stake in British department store chain Debenhams PLC after the U.S. buyout firm made its exit from the business earlier this week.
Och-Ziff, one of the world's largest hedge fund managers, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday it now owns 11.52 percent of Debenhams. The fund is also a shareholder in Peacocks, the British privately owned budget retail chain.
TPG sold its entire stake of more than 120 million shares -- about 9 percent of Debenhams stock -- earlier this week to a single unnamed hedge fund, a source said, netting the firm almost 100 million pounds ($164.4 million) and marking its exit from the business it refloated in 2006.
Prior to the transaction, Och-Ziff held some 18 million shares indirectly in Debenhams, according to the filing.
Och-Ziff declined to comment.
($1=.6081 Pound)

(Reporting by Simon Meads; editing by Simon Jessop)

(simon.meads@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 9969; Reuters Messaging: simon.meads.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.com))

Keywords: DEBENHAMS/STAKE

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