LONDON--Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) Wednesday said it agreed
to sell more than 500 million pounds ($861 million) of assets in
two separate deals, part of the 39%-government-owned bank's
strategy of selling off non-core assets to strengthen its capital
base.
The U.K. lender agreed to sell a portfolio of leveraged loans to
ELQ Investors II Ltd., a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), for
GBP254 million.
Lloyds will also sell its German life insurance business
Heidelberger Lebensversicherung AG to a joint venture company owned
by Cinven Partners LLP and Hannover Rück SE for GBP250 million.
The transaction is expected to lead to a loss of around GBP330
million in the group's accounts, but is also expected to result in
a benefit to the bank's common equity tier 1 capital of GBP0.4
billion upon completion.
Lloyds is seeking to sell non-core assets as it attempts to fill
some of its multi billion pound capital deficit ahead of an
anticipated sale of its government-owned stake.
The lender is also looking to sell $8.7 billion of U.S. mortgage
securities and asset-management unit Scottish Widows Investment
Partnership.
Write to Peter Evans at peter.evans@dowjones.com
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