MADRID (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cinven is in exclusive talks with Swedish rival EQT to buy Spain's largest online real estate company Idealista, Spanish newspaper Expansion reported on Thursday, citing unidentified market sources.

The negotiated value of Idealista is close to 3 billion euros ($3.26 billion), the newspaper said.

EQT, which has controlled Idealista since 2020, has hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to sell its majority stake, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in February.

EQT bought a majority stake from fund Apax Partners and the company's management in 2020 in a deal that valued the company at about 1.3 billion euros.

Founded in 2000, Idealista operates in Spain, Portugal and Italy, and allows real estate agents to advertise their properties in exchange for a recurring subscription fee. It also provides online advertising, mortgage brokerage and data analytics services for real estate agents.

Spokespeople for Cinven and EQT did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Idealista declined to comment.

($1 = 0.9193 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Jason Neely)