Citadel rocketed to prominence as a canny hedge fund manager since its founding by Ken Griffin in 1990. Now there are lots of rumors swirling about it. Will it go public? Will it seek a stake in Bear Stearns? Will it buy Bear Stearns? Well, its more than a hedge fund. Financial News Online notes that Citadel also offers "options market-making, trade execution, back-office functions and fund of hedge funds management." So in many ways it resembles an investment bank already. So perhaps a deal for Bear Stearns or another bank would make sense. Then again, an IPO would give it the capital to expand in that area. I'm sure that Citadel has considered the move. But we won't know until we know.  

For more:
- here's the Financial News Online article