Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are to manage the $7bn (€7.8bn) initial public offering of CIT, the consumer finance company being spun off by Tyco, the beleaguered US conglomerate.

The appointments end speculation in the US about who will lead the IPO, which is set to be one of the biggest of the year. Last week, Tyco made the rare move of filing for the offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission without naming bookrunners - only a group of 10 co-managers.