UPDATE 2-HK's BEA shares soar on suitor talk, but hurdles remain

* BEA shares soar as much as 26 pct over 2 days on M&A talk

* Guoco bid would face anti-trust issues in Malaysia

* Spain's Criteria stake capped at max 20 pct under BEA deal (Recasts with comments from BEA, Guoco)

By Alison Leung and Doug Young

HONG KONG, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A battle for control could be brewing for Hong Kong's No.5 bank, Bank of East Asia (0023.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), pitting one of the former British colony's oldest families against newer interests from Europe and Southeast Asia.

But any bid could face a number of obstacles, including anti trust laws in one potential suitor's home market, and a previous agreement by the other not to launch a hostile bid for the company.

Rumours that Malaysia-controlled conglomerate Guoco Group (0053.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) could be interested in BEA -- which saw a run on its deposits just a year ago at the height of the global financial crisis -- have sent the bank's shares up as much as 26 percent in the last two days.

Spain's Criteria CaixaCorp (CRIT.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), BEA's current largest single stakeholder with 9.04 percent of its shares, could also try to increase its stake in the bank.

But a Guoco purchase of BEA -- which owns 20.5 percent of Malaysia's AFFIN Banking Group -- would violate Malaysia laws prohibiting one group from owning two banks in the country. Guoco's owner, Quek Leng Chan, already owns a Malaysian bank through his Hong Leong group.