Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has fuelled new speculation that the investment bank is considering selling its 20% stake in US financial information company Bloomberg.
Thain told reporters in a conference call that the broker may consider selling some or all of the Bloomberg stake to raise capital, rather than selling securities.
Merrill originally invested in privately-held Bloomberg in 1985 and had increased its stake to 30% by 1990. The bank sold 10% back to Bloomberg in 1996.
The 20% stake is estimated to be worth between $5 billion and $6 billion.
Rumours surfaced last October that Merrill was looking to sell off its Bloomberg shareholding in order to raise capital to off-set massive credit-related losses. In this week's conference call, Thain said Merrill had considered the move at the end of 2007, but decided against a sale.
Thian said the Bloomberg stake is "a very good investment" but cited Merrill's stake in asset manager BlackRock as "more strategic".
According to a Reuters report, the most likely buyer for the Merrill stake is founder and Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, who still has a 70% shareholding in the financial information business.
The report also cites General Electric - which operates the CNBC business news television channel - and Financial Times publisher Pearson as possible bidders.
In October 2006 Michael Bloomberg ruled out a sale of the company despite receiving several bid approaches. However Bloomberg has said in the past that he will eventually sell his stake and the proceeds will be used to form a charitable trust.