The whole business was then sold to the Barclay brothers.
The Barclay brothers are eager to retain control of the papers.
But the Barclay brothers seem to consider these would-be buyers irrelevant.
The Barclay brothers have interests in hotels, other real estate and shipping.
But no, today the Barclay brothers' expenses shotgun - how much did the twins pay for it?
The Barclay brothers have expressed continuing interest and are expected to join the list of bidders.
The Barclay brothers also made an offer for the entire company in late January that valued it at $1.4 billion, or about $18 a share.
The holding company went into administration twice before the venture was sold to the Barclay Brothers.
Others are more optimistic, pointing to the Barclay brothers' rescue of the European.
It was unclear on Friday whether the Barclay brothers would try to join the bidding process.
