NBNK Investments Plc has submitted a new offer to Lloyds TSB, as the embattled retail bank needs to sell 632 of its branches in order to comply with EU regulations.
NBNK, which was founded in 2010 in order to facilitate the creation of a new bank in the UK, is currently outbid by the Co-op Bank for the Lloyds branches, even though the investment group’s original bid was understood to be worth approximately £1.5 billion. Even in the face of the new offer from NBNK, Lloyds has said its exclusive talks with the Co-op continue unabated, and with the sell-off deadline being November of next year, industry experts say Lloyds feels no pressure to abandon its current negotiations.
The new NBNK offer includes a clause promising to underwrite the entirety of the more than 600 branches being sold off by the bank, increasing the overall value of the deal at almost £2 billion. This gives shareholders the flexibility of receiving shares of whatever newly-formed banking group emerges, receiving cash for their shares, or any combination of both, and with the government owning 41 per cent of Lloyds TSB, Treasury ministers are quite keen to get a positive return on their investment.
Lloyds, which has been in preparation for an IPO in the event that the Co-op deal falls through, would to much better to take up the NBNK offer, said Lord Levene, the chairman of the investment group. The objectives for NBNK are fully supported by its shareholders, the chairman added, stating that the investment group has the proper experience, strategy, management, and board to successfully operate a large-scale retail banking operation.