William Blair & Co LLC of Chicago is advising Malvern, Pa.-based Vanguard on its bid, the newspaper reported.

“Those rumors have been out there since the iShares sale was first announced,” John Woerth, a spokesman for Vanguard, said today. “We did not comment on them then and don’t see any reason to comment on them now.”

A Barclays spokesman declined to comment on the Telegraph’s story but said that the company continues to receive a great deal of interest in its iShares business.

Barclays in April announced an agreement to sell its iShares business to Blue Sparkle LP, a limited partnership established by CVC Capital Partners Ltd., a London-based private-equity firm, for about $4.4 billion.

The sale agreement, however, included a “go-shop period” that expires June 18.

During the period, Barclays can solicit or consider proposals for a superior transaction involving iShares and potentially other related businesses.

Source:Investmentnews