The Santander Bank has been one of the entities that one has presented, the British subsidiary of Sabadell, with a purchase proposal that would value TSB in more than 2.3 billion pounds (2,686 million euros), according to Reuters. The operation, in a decisive week in which the entity chaired by Carlos Torres must make the crucial decision to move forward with the operation or withdraws the OPA.
The Santander would not be the only offer that Sabadell has received on TSB. In that scenario of several candidates, the Catalan entity has convened a meeting of its board of directors for this Tuesday, with the aim of deciding whether it comes with the sale and, where appropriate, what offer is the winner. Santander and the British Barclays have placed themselves as favorites to acquire TSB.
The one who had received signs of interest in his British business, just in the final stretch of the offer presented by the BBVA on the whole of the Catalan entity. The divestment of the British subsidiary, which Sabadell acquired a decade ago, has been considered by analysts as a defensive measure to try to hinder the hostile OPA of its rival. BBVA, however, has affirmed that purchase.
Santander and Barclays were finalist for the purchase of TSB. Other banks that studied the transaction (such as Natwest, HSBC or Yorkshire Building Society) ended up abandoning the process.
Neither Santander nor Sabadell commented on Reuters.
The TSB sales process thus interferes with the imminent decision by the BBVA on whether it will continue with its offer for Sabadell, after both entities for at least three years. The additional condition imposed reduces the planned benefits of the operation.
The eventual TSB sale has barely altered the BBVA and Sabadell contributions since the process was announced. The two banks move in parallel bag, and the difference between Sabadell’s price and what BBVA offers remains around 5%.
Shortly before the session, Sabadell’s action rose 0.5%, to 2.7 euros, and the BBVA was quoted flat, at 15.27 euros. Santander, on the other hand, fell 0.6%.
If a TSB agreement was specified, it would represent the last step in the banking consolidation of the United Kingdom. Nationwide Building Society agreed to the purchase of Virgin Money last year in an cash operation for 2.9 billion pounds (3,385 million euros), while Barclays acquired the banking operations of the Tesco supermarket group for about 600 million pounds (700 million euros). The TSB buyer would add assets worth about 53.7 billion euros.
