BGI buyout?

BGI senior executives already own 20 percent of the San Francisco,based firm, and sources say they would like to buy the rest.

BGI senior executives already own 20 percent of the San Francisco,based firm, and sources say they would like to buy the rest. BGI management reportedly has found backing from buyout specialist Hellman & Friedman, which is run by renowned Bay Area financier Warren Hellman. In a recent interview with Institutional Investor, Hellman said asset management acquisitions were a key area of interest for his firm. He later declined to comment specifically on BGI. Despite having almost $800 billion in assets, the U.S.'s second-largest money manager isn,t a hugely attractive acquisition, because of its focus on low-margin index products. Investment bankers say BGI might not fetch more than $1 billion. “Even that would be pretty high,” says one banker. “Barclays is the market leader in a mature business , there,s nowhere to go but down.” CEO Patricia Dunn was unavailable at press time, and a spokesman declines comment.

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