Barclays Plc is in talks to sell its asset management arm, a person familiar with the matter said, challenging private equity bids for iShares, the trophy asset within the business.
The British bank is discussing a sale of San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors (BGI), for about $10 billion, the person said.
Potential bidders include US money manager Blackrock, the Financial Times said on Friday. Bank of New York Mellon is also in talks about BGI, Bloomberg reported.
Barclays, Blackrock and BNY Mellon declined to comment.
By 0908 GMT Barclays shares jumped 9.9 per cent at 278 pence, valuing the bank at about £23 billion. The shares have soared five-fold since January.
The talks have emerged as Barclays attempts to lure more offers for iShares, the exchange traded funds business that is part of BGI, before a June 18 deadline. It is likely any deal for BGI would emerge by that deadline.
Selling BGI would scupper the separate sale of iShares, which it has earlier agreed to sell to buyout firm CVC Capital Partners for £3 billion.
As part of that deal, it is allowed to seek rival offers under a "go shop" clause until June 18. It has received new interest from both trade and private equity buyers in the business. "If a sale of BGI as a whole were on the table at the price north of $10 billion I would regard that as a good price in this market," said Ian Gordon, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.
"I don't think Barclays' core objective is to sell BGI but if they are offered a price for any business that is accretive to shareholders they are duty bound to look at it."
Barclays will need to pay CVC a $175 million break-up fee if it sells iShares to another bidder.
BGI, the world's biggest fund manager, is also included in the "go shop" clause, giving potential suitors a closer look at its business, because it shares some businesses with iShares, such as its stock lending business.
BGI has £1.040 trillion in assets under management, including £226 billion at iShares.
An offer of about £6.5 billion for BGI would represent about 10 times last year's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £673 million, just under the 10.1 times EBITDA valuation on CVC's bid for iShares.