Goldman poised for iShares bid

Barclays shares jumped more than 7% today on signs that Goldman Sachs was among the suitors preparing to launch a bid for its iShares business.

Part of Barclays Global Investors and the world's biggest manager of exchange traded funds, iShares was put up for sale this month and Barclays hopes it could fetch as much as $6.5 billion (£4.4 billion).

At least three other suitors are considering a bid, including the buy-out group Bain Capital and a consortium led by US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which already owns Gartmore Asset Management.

Fund manager Vanguard is also thought to be interested.

Barclays shares rose 9.4p to 130.9p today. Analysts warn the bank needs to raise some £8 billion of capital as it struggles with rising bad debts. It is reluctant to go to the Government for help.