Blackstone, Wellcome Out Of Race For RBS Branches - Source
April 26 2010 - 5:29AM
Dow Jones News
A consortium of Blackstone Group (BX) and U.K. charity Wellcome
Trust has left the race for Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's
(RBS) 318 U.K. branches because the bid wasn't competitive enough,
a person familiar with the situation said Monday.
A final shortlist for the branches, currently valued at up to
GBP2 billion, is expected by the end of this week. Spain's Banco
Santander SA (STD) and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA),
National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) and Richard Branson's
privately held Virgin Money are still in the race, the person
added.
Once a final group is picked, due diligence on the assets will
begin, for a period of about six weeks.
A deal is expected in the second half of the year, although the
actual transfer of operations probably won't take place until
2011.
RBS, 83%-government owned, is selling branches in England and
Wales, along with NatWest branches in Scotland, and the accounts of
some SME customers across the U.K., under European Union
requirements.
Combined, the branches have GBP23.6 billion in assets and 6,000
employees.
The bank received the largest state aid in the world following
its near collapse during the financial crisis in 2008. The EU has
ordered it to cut market shares in some segments to make sure the
bank isn't at a competitive advantage to peers that stayed
independent.
-By Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel
+44(0)207-842-9295, patricia.kowsmann@dowjones.com
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