Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) is reportedly conducting a beauty parade of potential Australian partners to create a consortium for its AUD 6 billion ($4.7 billion) offer for AMP Bank Limited. Ares pitched a non-binding offer for AMP last October and is pondering a takeover of the entire company, even though its primary interest is in AMP Capital, which has around AUD 200 billion ($155 billion) in global assets under management. Local players Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BEN), Macquarie Group Limited (ASX:MQG) and the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX:BOQ) are reportedly in discussions with Ares to join in and buy the whole of AMP, with a view to then splitting off its much smaller banking division.

Acquiring the banking division would give any of the potential Australian suitors more scale in the domestic market, and provide a divestment solution for Ares. The Ares bid was a cash and scrip offer which valued AMP at AUD 6.4 billion ($5 billion) or AUD 1.85 ($1.44) per share, but the shares have drifted lower and are now trading at AUD 1.61 ($1.25) Even so, the AMP Board are also believed to be proceeding cautiously because under the cash and scrip offer its shareholders will become shareholders of Ares.