Bank of America's (BAC) Large Private Equity Fund Being Spun Off

The last huge private equity fund under the umbrella of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is being spun off, including the $5 billion in assets it represents.

Bank of America said it will spin off BAML Capital Partners into a yet-to-be-named firm of its own.

Assets held in BAML will remain on the balance sheet of Bank of America until they are wound down.

According to BofA spokesman Jerry Dubrowski, the giant bank decided the private equity firm was not strategically critical to customers and our clients," resulting in the decision.

For a fee the firm will manage the private equity assets of Bank of America as it winds them down over a period of time. Eventually it may start to accept outside investors.

No one has been named to head up the new business yet.

Bank of America closed Tuesday at $12.34, dropping $0.08, or 0.64 percent.

Judge Claims Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Manipulated Del Monte (NYSE:DEL) Sales Process

A judge in Delaware put a 20-day halt to a shareholder vote on the acquisition of Del Monte (NYSE:DEL) by a private equity group, saying Barclays Capital (NYSE:BCS) manipulated the sales process.

In the ruling of the judge, he said Barclays deliberately misled the board of Del Monte by working behind the scenes with members of the private equity group in order to generate more financing fees.

That's why the judge put the shareholder vote, which was going to be held Tuesday on hold for 20 days.

If Del Monte chooses, they can enter into negotiations with other potential bidders, as the judge also removed deal protection provisions which keep a company from looking for other offers.

The private equity group made an offer of $4 billion for the food company.

Del Monte closed Tuesday at $18.94, gaining $0.05, or 0.26 percent.