Several private-equity firms are interested in buying the $4.8 billion real estate loan portfolio being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires.
The buyout firms Lone Star Funds and Blackstone Group LP are among potential bidders, which may also include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to a weekend press report. It is unclear whether there is any deadline for first-round bids.
The sale is part of RBS' ongoing disposal program to sell noncore parts of its business that it can no longer afford to hold, but isn't officially part of the sales imposed on the bank after receiving government aid.
