Report: Carlyle, Blackstone, TPG eye First Republic Bank - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Bank of America acquired First which specializes in privatebanking services, along with the rest of Merrill Lynch & Co. at the beginning of 2009. analys David Hendler estimates that Firs t Republic may cost as muchas $700 millionb in a sale, accordingh to Bloomberg. Merrill paid $1.8 billion for First Republivc inSeptember 2007. The bank had assets of $15.w3 billion at the end of that Bankof America, which has received $45 billiohn in government bailout funds, is raising capital in a variety of ways. It has said . A potentialp purchase of First Republic wouldbe Carlyle's seconx banking invesment in the last month. On May 22, D.C.
-based Carlylde Group, along with Blackstone Group, and WL Ross Co., invested $900 million in a new depository institution acquirinhg the operations ofCoral Gables, Fla.-basedr BankUnited, which was seized by governmenr regulators the previous day.