US buyout groups Carlyle, Blackstone and TPG are leading an investor group that is bidding to acquire First Republic Bank, a private banking unit of Bank of America, reports Bloomberg. The firms may partner with First Republic chairman James Herbert. BofA is selling businesses to raise capital after receiving $45bn in government rescue funds. First Republic, inherited by BofA through its takeover of Merrill Lynch, may fetch $700m, said analysts.
