Brown Shipley has become the latest group battling for Jupiter Asset Management's wealth arm, according to sources.
Investment Week understands the private bank is the latest group to throw its hat into the ring and bid for the business, with a £50m offer. A deal would provide a boost for its investment management capability.
A number of competitors in the space - including Quilter, Rathbones and Towry - have already been identified as potential buyers.
Bidders need to submit their offers by early next month, Investment Week understands.
According to house broker Numis, a £50m deal makes sense for Jupiter, and could enable it to pay a special dividend to shareholders.
Jupiter is understood to be keen to sell after failing to make sufficient progress growing the business.
Its private client arm remains small compared to its funds arm, holding just 7% of the group's overall assets under management.
The division saw net inflows for the first nine months of 2013 but its asset gathering record remains patchy: the business saw flows of just £15m in Q3 2013, the most recent period for which figures are available. Talk of a sale of the business previously emerged in early 2013.
Jupiter shares were flat today, up just 0.1% at 379.5p this afternoon.
