Barclays' iShares business has attracted bids of as much as $6 billion, Dow Jones' Marietta Cauchi reported. Goldman Sachs put in a $6 billion bid, while a group led by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman and perhaps including Carlyle Group and Apax Partners, submitted a bid of around $5 billion.

An M&A consultant told The MFWire that Goldman's offer was all-cash.

The difference in values, Cauchi wrote, perhaps stems from the fact that the business is made up of two segments: the core iShares platform and the securities lending business attached. Buyout firms are likely to be drawn to the asset management side due to its steady cash flow, while investment banks like Goldman already have a securities lending arm and are more likely to covet the entire iShares business.

iShares ended February with AUM of $215 billion.

Private equity firm Bain Capital is also said to be eyeing iShares, though it was not clear whether it put in a bid. 

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