Goldman cashed in
on trading

Bloomberg News

NEW YORK -- Goldman Sachs Group LP, the biggest investment banking partnership, disclosed financial details that show trading and merchant banking were the biggest sources of revenue for the firm in the past three years.

Bishop Estate owns big stake Goldman Sach Group's investors include Hawaii's Bishop Estate, which has paid about $500 million for an estimated 10 percent stake in the Wall Street powerhouse.

New York-based Goldman, in a preliminary filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell stock for the first time, said net revenue from trading and investing its own money in companies and real estate totaled $2.58 billion, or 47 percent of the firm's $5.46 billion in net revenue, during the first six months of fiscal 1998.

Goldman's 190 partners voted earlier this month to take the 129-year-old firm public, boosting capital to invest in world markets, make acquisitions, and provide stock to pay employees and attract stars from rival firms. The firm plans to raise about $3 billion by selling 10 percent to 15 percent of the investment bank. The offering is likely to value the firm between $25 billion and $30 billion, partners said earlier.

The firm didn't disclose how much it plans to raise, what stake it plans to sell, or how many shares it will offer to the public.

Those disclosures are expected in future filings with regulators.