Close Brothers in bid for Kleinwort Benson

BRITISH merchant bank Close Brothers is reported to have bid for Kleinwort Benson, a private bank being sold by Commerzbank AG.

Close is believed to be one of a number of potential bidders that has made it through to the second round of an auction process for the bank.

Kleinwort Benson, which traces its roots back to the 1850s, attracted bids from more than 20 trade buyers and up to ten private equity firms interested in backing a management buy-out, according to sources.

A source cited a book value of about 300 million ($500m) for Kleinwort Benson.

Close Brothers was unavailable for comment.

Former Kleinwort banker Simon Robertson, chairman of Rolls Royce, is backing a rival bid by the management of the bank.