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Report: Vanguard made $5B bid for Barclays' iShares

‘Go shop’ period may torpedo CVC Capital Partners Group’s tentative $4.4B deal

By David Hoffman

June 1, 2009 1:17 pm ET

The Vanguard Group Inc. has made a $5 billion bid to purchase the iShares exchange traded fund business from Barclays PLC of London, the Sunday Telegraph of London reported on Saturday, citing unidentified sources.

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William Blair & Co LLC of Chicago is advising Malvern, Pa.-based Vanguard on its bid, the newspaper reported.

“Those rumors have been out there since the iShares sale was first announced,” John Woerth, a spokesman for Vanguard, said today. “We did not comment on them then and don't see any reason to comment on them now.”

A Barclays spokesman declined to comment on the Telegraph’s story but said that the company continues to receive a great deal of interest in its iShares business.

Barclays in April announced an agreement to sell its iShares business to Blue Sparkle LP, a limited partnership established by CVC Capital Partners Ltd., a London-based private-equity firm, for about $4.4 billion.

The sale agreement, however, included a “go-shop period” that expires June 18.

During the period, Barclays can solicit or consider proposals for a superior transaction involving iShares and potentially other related businesses.

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