NEW YORK — A story in the September 4 edition of the NewYork Times has questioned whether investment bankers will beable to raise the funds they need to take credit card processorFirst Data private.

Under the deal which was announced back in April, seven banksbacked the privatization with $24 billion that they, in turn,wanted to offer investors in form of loans and bonds to move FirstData from being a public company to one owned by the private equityfirm Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts.

But the Times story pointed out that since late Junemany of the sorts of buyers who have usually financed these dayshave lost some of the interest in them or have demanded discountsand stricter repayment terms. The Times quoted First DataCEO Henry Duques as saying the firm's leadership was preparing fora “road show” to sell the financing for the deal. “It would be niceif somebody wanted to buy the debt at a reasons price,” Duques isquoted as saying.