Bidding War Emerges for E*Trade’s Wholesaling Business

The bidding is heating up for E*Trade’s wholesaler unit.

According to Reuters, Citadel LLC, Virtu Financial, Two Sigma and RGM Advisors are all bidding for G1 Execution Services, the E*Trade unit that makes markets for retail brokerages.

Any deal could be worth between $100 million to $200 million, according to the news service.

G1 is part of a group of five broker-dealers that dominate the business of order processing for retail brokers. Competitors include KCG Holdings, UBS, Citadel Securities, and Citigroup/ATD.

Last month, E*Trade announced the unit was for sale and that it would take a $142.4 million impairment charge.

Citigroup is overseeing the sale, according to Reuters.

There is at least one other bidder—a bank that does not currently offer market-making services, according to Reuters.