Goodwill says in talks with Mizuho to sell debt

TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - Goodwill Group Inc (4723.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it is in talks with Mizuho Financial Group's (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) banking unit for its debt to be sold, some of which may be converted to equity.

The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that the banking unit will sell about 100 billion yen ($983 million) in loans made to the struggling staffing service firm to U.S. fund Cerberus [CBS.UL] and to Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Cerberus and Morgan Stanley are expected to conduct a debt-equity swap to convert a portion of the loans into common and preferred shares, effectively becoming the top shareholders in Goodwill, the newspaper said. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi)