Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and a consortium of private-equity firms led by billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross have entered bids to acquire troubled Florida thrift BankUnited Financial Corp. (BKUNA), according to people familiar with the matter.

The suitors submitted their offers to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Tuesday morning ahead of a 12 p.m. EDT deadline, the people said on condition of anonymity. Federal regulators could take BankUnited into receivership soon after soliciting bids for the bank that it deemed "critically undercapitalized."

The bid deadline could also be extended as regulators seek more buyers, according to one person familiar with the bidding. The bid deadline has been extended several times already.

Shares of BankUnited, a thrift based in Coral Gables, Fla. with 95 branches around the state, surged 8% to 96 cents a share in late-morning trading on the Nasdaq. Taking the bank into receivership would wipe out shareholders.

The consortium of private-equity players includes Carlyle Group LLC, Blackstone Group LP (BX) and Centerbridge Partners LP. Ross has hired John Kanas, the former chief executive of North Fork Bancorp, to help run BankUnited if the deal is successful.

Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank, which has significant operations in the U.S. through TD Bank and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), has submitted its bid, the people said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) is also attached to TD's bid.

A spokesman for Toronto-Dominion declined to comment, and a spokesman for Goldman Sachs didn't immediately return telephone calls. The FDIC also did not immediately return telephone calls.

J.C. Flowers & Co. was also considered to be interested in acquiring BankUnited. A person familiar with one of the potential acquirers said Flowers has not entered a bid. A representative of J.C. Flowers didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

- By Joe Bel Bruno, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4047; joe.belbruno@dowjones.com