Private equity firms bidding for Morgan Stanley's stake in CICC, a Chinese investment bank that the New York bank owns a 34.3% stake in, reportedly all lowered their second-round bids into the $600 million range, after initially putting in offers that topped $1 billion. Auction participants, which include Bain Capital, TPG and the consortium of General Atlantic LLC, Starr International Co. and JC Flowers & Co. LLC, reconsidered the situation as concerns about their ability to influence the investment bank's chief executive Levin Zhu came to the fore. - George White
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