Managers make offer for Kering's La Redoute

PARIS (Reuters) - Managers at Kering's loss-making La Redoute mail order unit have made a joint offer to take over the business from Kering, Challenges magazine reported on Monday.

La Redoute is part of Kering's mail order business Redcats. The bid from La Redoute Chief Executive Nathalie Balla and Redcats finance chief Eric Courteille follows similar expressions of interest from HIG Capital, OpCapita and real estate group Altarea Cogedim, Challenges said. A spokesman for Kering confirmed an announcement on a sale was expected before Christmas, but he declined to comment on the process or possible bidders.

Kering is seeking to complete its transformation into a luxury and sports brand group. The process began in 2006 with the sale of retail chain Printemps when the group was still called PPR, an abbreviation of Pinault Printemps La Redoute. Kering is controlled by the Pinault family.

Kering issued a profit warning last month, blaming one-off charges related to sports brand Puma's (PUMG.DE) restructuring and the disposal of La Redoute.

Kering has injected more than 400 million euros ($542 million) into La Redoute since 2008 and would be ready to inject at least another 300 million in order to cover its losses for a few years more and finance its restructuring, sources close to the matter have said.

($1 = 0.7377 euros)

(Reporting by James Regan; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)