Close Brothers, the UK investment bank that on Friday said it had been approached by suitors, is understood to be in talks with Orix, the Japanese financial group, and Tata, the Indian conglomerate.
The talks come a month after Close Bros rejected a 950p a share, or £1.4bn in cash, approach from Cenkos, a smaller UK rival, and Landsbanki of Iceland. The bank, which is still considering several possibilities for its future, is now understood to be leaning towards a sale of the whole company.
Its advisers at Greenhill and UBS this week have been in touch with would-be buyers for the whole company, and held a meeting with Orix in London.
Discussions are less advanced with Tata, which has a financial arm but no history of interest in investment banking.
Close Bros has refused to talk to Cenkos since rejecting its November approach as "wholly inadequate".
But, while the Close Bros board refuses to meet Cenkos, the bank is understood to have invited its rival to meet members of staff for presentations on business units.
It has, however, asked Cenkos to agree not to poach Close Bros staff or clients.
"It makes sense that Close Bros seems determined to strike a cosy deal with an organisation that will allow its fat cats to keep their remuneration," said Andy Stewart, chief executive of Cenkos.
"When we buy this company it's very unlikely that we will need anyone to staff a fat cats' department," he added.
Orix, which is listed in Japan, has a 1.1 per cent stake in Close Bros and has been building its presence in the UK through its subsidiary Houlihan Lokey, the US-based mid-market mergers and acquisitions specialist.
Tata and Orix declined to comment, though it is understood that Orix is not likely to pursue the whole company aggressively.
Close Bros declined to comment on who had made approaches and on whether the bank itself or its advisers had initiated contact.
While recent discussions for the whole company have focused on foreigners, Collins Stewart, the UK investment bank, is understood to be possibly interested in Close's asset management unit or Winterflood, its market-making business,.
In the two years before the approach from Cenkos, Close Bros had underperformed the UK General Financials Index by more than 40 per cent, while several broking rivals had underperformed by less that 30 per cent.
News of further discussions lifted Close Bros shares 9.8 per cent to 950½p, a level not seen since just after the Cenkos approach.
Some of Close Bros biggest investors, including Scottish Widows, are understood to be keen for the company to return value to shareholders soon, with that likely meaning a sale of all or part of the company.
