Ananda Krishnan, the Malaysian investor, has been tipped as the leading bidder in the auction of Earls Court and Olympia. The unattributed report said Krishnan planned to merge the Earls Court and Olympia [EC&O] properties with ExCel, the London, UK-based exhibition centre. Krishnan holds a 75% shareholding in ExCel, the item explained. EC&O's owner, St James Capital, has hired UBS and LongAcre Partners to advise on bids for the London-located conference venues group, after being sounded out regarding potential unsolicited offers EC&O has a c. £400m price tag, it is thought.