Several bulge bracket banks are reputedly looking to raise their stakes in European government bond trading platform MTS after a number of shareholders pulled out of the company.
MTS is 51% owned by MBE Holding, a joint venture set up by Euronext and Borsa Italiana.
According to an unsourced Reuters report, Deutsche Bank wants to increase its share in MTS while Barclays, JP Morgan and Société Générale are looking to double their stakes.
The report says that several Italian and international banks have exited MTS, allowing other shareholders to increase holdings.
Barclays and JP Morgan will each own around five pecent of MTS after the increase, while Société Général would hold one per cent. Deutsche Bank currently holds a two per cent stake in the firm.
The same source told Reuters that Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Nomura and France's Caisse des Depots et Consignations are also interested in buying into MTS.