We could be approaching the end of the Reed Business Information sell-off saga - and it looks like Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK) will either get less than it hoped or pull the sale altogether. Bloomberg, citing two unnamed sources claiming knowledge of the sale process, reports offers for RBI have now fallen to $1 billion (£613 million) and that outgoing Reed CEO Crispin Davies will either choose a final bidder or cancel the sale in the coming weeks. Bloomberg says Davies has met with two bidders – Bain Capital LLC and the combined TPG/ DLJ Merchant Banking Partners group – but there’s no clue yet as to who might take the final plunge.

Reed originally put RBI on the auction block in February with analysts estimating the price at around $2 billion and some reports putting it as high as $2.5 billion. But as the company admitted last week, the same may not happen at all. Davies will be hoping something can be arranged before he leaves the company after eight years in March. Reed Business CEO Gerard van de Aast will also leave the company on December 15, though Reed was tight-lipped on whether his departure had anything to do with the torturous divestment.

• Industry Moves: RBI CEO Van De Aast Quits, Sell-Off Remains Unresolved
• Earnings: Reed Stands Up To Economy, But RBI Sale ‘Cannot Be Certain’
• Industry Moves: Reed Elsevier Picks Smith For CEO; £3.6M Possible Salary, RBI Sale Top Of To-Do Lis
• Reed Elsevier Plans Even Sweeter Sweetener For Struggling RBI Sell-Off: Report