Barclays up on $10bn BGI sale talk

15th May 2009 09:32

Shares in Barclays jumped on reports that the banking giant is considering offers worth around $10bn (£6.5bn) for its asset management arm Barclays Global Investors. Potential bidders for the BGI division include US money manager BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon, according to press reports. Barclays confirmed that it has received a number of expressions of interest, including unsolicited interest in the broader BGI business, but did not comment on who the potential suitors are. A sale to a different party would mean that Barclays would backtrack on an already agreed deal to sell its iShares fund management business, part of BGI, to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $4.4bn (£3bn). Under the terms of the deal with CVC, Barclays is allowed to seek rival bids for the unit until mid-June. If it does break the deal, it has to pay CVC $175m, though the private equity firm must be given the chance to match any higher offer. Shares in the bank are currently up 9.58% at 277.25p, making it the biggest blue chip riser. The bank's shares slumped to 47.3p in January. Other banking shares are also in demand with Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland both up in sympathy.