Ross among funds considering Delphi bid -- sources

By Kevin Krolicki and Jui Chakravorty

DETROIT/NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is among those considering a bid for the assets of bankrupt auto parts supplier Delphi Corp (DPHIQ.PK), two people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Hedge fund Elliott Management is also preparing a credit bid for Delphi, which was spun off by General Motors Corp GMGMQ.PK in 1999, the sources said.

The interest by both investors could complicate an effort by Delphi to complete a deal to sell its assets to GM and private equity firm Platinum Equity LLC.

Delphi could not be immediately reached for comment.

Ross declined to comment.

"As you know, our policy is not to comment on rumors," Ross said in an email to Reuters.

Ross is no stranger to the auto parts business, having built an interiors supplier in part by combining the business of the former Collins & Aikman and the interiors business of Lear Corp (LEA.N) in recent years.

Ross also has been known as a consolidator in other distressed industries, such as steel and coal. In an interview in December, Ross said he did not see how Delphi would survive a GM bankruptcy.

The four-year Delphi bankruptcy has been a cash drain for GM, which is now also operating in bankruptcy as it seeks permission to sell most of its assets to a new company funded by the U.S. Treasury.

As part of a deal brokered by the Obama administration's autos task force, GM would take over Delphi's steering business and four other U.S. plants.

The rest of the Delphi business, which includes its international operations, would be sold to Platinum in a $3.6 billion deal.

GM has agreed to provide $2 billion in funding to Beverly Hills, California-based Platinum, the automaker has said.

Platinum said it was confident its bid would be approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing the Delphi reorganization.

"As Delphi's court supervised bankruptcy reorganization reaches culmination, we are confident that our offer will be validated as the highest and best before the court," Platinum principal Mark Barnhill said in a statement.

"We have never been the only prospective bidder in the process, nor even necessarily the favored bidder. But we have persevered with only one objective: Putting the strongest and most comprehensive solution on the table and delivering value for all of Delphi's stakeholders."