Former Bear Stearns CEO mulling job offers: report

Former Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz listens to testimony on the rescue of Bear Stearns by federal financial regulators during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington April 3, 2008.

(Reuters) - Former Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz is weighing a number of options as he prepares to leave JPMorgan Chase, including joining an investment bank or well-heeled private-equity firm, the New York Post quoted sources as saying.

Schwartz is expected to depart with former Bear Stearns executive Richard Metrick, considered to be his right-hand man, the New York Post said.

Among the banks in the running are Citigroup Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, while private-equity suitors include Warburg Pincus and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the Post said.

An entrepreneurial move might also be in the cards for Schwartz, and there are reports that the ex-Bear Stearns chief might land at an advisory firm such as Centerview Partners or Evercore Partners, the Post said.

Schwartz shot to Wall Street fame advising on large M&A deals, such as Disney's 1996 acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc for $19 billion.

The paper said a key issue for Schwartz, 57, is ensuring that any new post he gets includes a place for Metrick, who is in his mid-60s.

Metrick, who formerly was a Bear Stearns senior managing director, is one of Schwartz's more trusted confidants and has worked with him on a number of deals, the Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Neither Goldman Sachs nor Citigroup could be reached immediately for a comment.

(Reporting by Purwa Naveen Raman in Bangalore; Editing by Paul Bolding)