Hellman & Friedman eyes iShares

Hellman & Friedman is putting together a group of private-equity groups that may bid for Barclays’ iShares unit in a transaction valued at as much as $5bn, reports Bloomberg. Barclays has set a deadline for offers for the end of this week and, according to the WSJ, may finance as much as 80% of the purchase price of iShares. Bain Capital and rival buyout firms TPG and Apax Partners also are suitors for iShares, the WSJ added.