LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to join the auction for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.'s insurance operations with an offer for the bank's Direct Line home and motor insurance business, the Sunday Express reported without citing sources.
The paper said Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment firm made an informal bid for Direct Line last year, but was rebuffed.
RBS put its entire insurance operation up for sale last month in order to shore up its capital reserves, depleted by credit crunch-related write-downs and last year's acquisition of Dutch rival ABN Amro.
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