* Macquarie says to announce "proposed transaction"
* Macquarie to offer $1.1 bln for ANZ car finance unit - reports
* Competition regulator cleared proposed deal last month (Adds ANZ comment, analyst comment, shares)
SYDNEY, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Macquarie Group 's MQG.AX shares were placed on a trading halt on Thursday amid market rumours Australia's top investment bank will buy ANZ Banking Group's ANZ.AX vehicle finance unit in a deal worth A$1.5 billion ($1.08 billion).
Macquarie told the stock exchange on Thursday it expects to make an announcement on "a proposed transaction" before the market opens on Monday. An ANZ spokesman declined to comment.
Macquarie is also expected to launch a A$400 million institutional placement offer to support the purchase, The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday.
ANZ, Australia's No. 4 lender by assets, put the business on the block earlier this year to cut its capital requirements in line with tough new rules. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N0XV17O
Last month, Australia's competition watchdog approved Macquarie's proposed bid for Esanda, saying the acquisition would not substantially lessen competition in the car finance market. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nWNBS01D0W
The deal will boost Macquarie's EPS at a price below A$1.5 billion, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said in a research note to clients, adding it will need to raise between A$0.6-A$1.1 billion to fund the acquisition.
Macquarie shares have been one of the rare bright spots on the index this year, surging more than 33 percent to Wednesday's close compared with a near 4 percent drop in the benchmark index .AXJO .
The four major banks have lost 5-12.5 percent this year with ANZ being the worst performer.
Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE is advising ANZ on the sale. ($1 = 1.3887 Australian dollars)