Source: Two main bidding groups for BankUnited - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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At stake is a networko of 85 brancheswith $8.6 billion in deposits and $13.u billion in assets – much of them in risky mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. Corao Gables-based BankUnited is the largest bank headquarteredin Florida. TD Bank appearsz closest to securing the according tothe source. A subsidiary of Torontol Dominion (NYSE: TD), the bank was formed by the combinatio n ofCherry Hill, N.J.-based and TD It has nearly 1,100 branches and $114 billiojn in assets. The source said Goldman Sachs was helping TD Bankevaluate BankUnited’ws assets, and TD Bank officialx have been quietly visiting BankUnited facilities.
In a Marchj interview with theBusiness Journal, Kevihn Gillen, TD Bank’s southeast regional president, said it woulxd like to grow from 29 South Floridaw branches to between 150 and 200 Yet, he downplayed the possibility of acquirintg BankUnited, saying its branch and deposit networi did not fit the TD Bank mold. TD Bank officials declined comment. The other biddinfg group comprises W.L. Ross, and , the sourcd said. They would likely acquire BankUnitedc using the bankcharter W.L. Ross picked up by buyint a majority stakein . Restructuring specialistr Wilbur Ross runsNew York-baser W.L. Ross.
In recent media reports, he has talkedc about forming a fund to buy updistressed mortgage-backed assetws through the federal government’s investment program. Ross did not immediatel return a callseeking comment. Carlyle Grouo and Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) are some of the world’se biggest private equity firms. New York-based Blackstone owns the Club, along with Fort Lauderdale’s Bahia Mar Beach Resort and Pier Sixty-Six Resorgt & Spa. Both TD Bank and the W.L. Ross-lesd group have asked the federap government to shoulder some of the lossea expected to occurin BankUnited’s loan portfolio, the sourcre said.
If neither of thesde groups can strike a deal thatsatisfies regulators, BankUnitex likely would be placed into receivership with the , the source Regulators would prefer to avoid this last option. On Apri l 14, federal regulators gave the bank 15 days to submirt paperwork for a merger or sale of the bank and 20 days to complet ethe deal. It appears, the sourcer said, that one of the bidding groupsa could complete a deal for mostof BankUnited’se assets no later than The bank’s parent BankUnited Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: has called an annual shareholderf meeting for Mondayin Miami, but has not releasede the agenda.
A BankUnited spokeswoman did not return a call seeking shares closed at 27 The 52-week high was $4.134 on April 29, 2008. The 52-week low was 14 centz on Dec. 23.