Latest news with #Sabadell
Times
21 hours ago
- Business
- Times
Santander and Barclays vie to take over TSB
Barclays and Santander were named on Friday as the two frontrunners to buy TSB as the deadline for initial offers for the high street lender passed. The British and Spanish banks were reported by Bloomberg to be the main contenders still standing in the auction to sell TSB by its current owner, Sabadell. Sabadell, which is under siege itself from a rival Spanish bank, BBVA, is due to choose a preferred bidder with which to carry on exclusive talks, or to walk away from a sale. • Who will buy TSB as banks circle? As both prospective bidders operate large retail banks in the UK, either bid offers the prospect of significant synergies — but heavy job losses — if it were to go through. TSB, which has about five million customers and 5,000 UK employees, has already slashed its branch network in recent years. The Competition and Markets Authority is not thought likely to object, although either deal would marginally reduce competition. TSB is thought to have around 3 per cent share of current accounts and 1.5 per cent share of the stock of mortgages. Sabadell confirmed last week that it had received some preliminary non-binding expressions of interest for TSB, which was spun out of Lloyds Banking Group and briefly floated in 2014 before being bought by Sabadell for £1.7 billion in 2015. The Spanish government this week gave BBVA the green light to proceed with a bid for Sabadell, while saying the two sides would have to keep their operations separate for at least three years. • Is it game over for Britain's challenger banks? Sabadell's chief executive, César González-Bueno Mayer, said on Wednesday that he expected a decision on TSB before he unveils a strategic plan on July 24. Analysts estimate that TSB could fetch as much as £2.6 billion. Higher interest rates and significant cost-cutting have improved its perceived value. TSB's operations are based on Sabadell's IT platform and a UK bidder would be likely to want to migrate customers to its own platform over time. Edinburgh-based TSB traces its roots back to the 19th century, when dozens of individual trustee savings banks were founded to serve people of moderate means under a mutual structure. It was first floated in 1986 and rescued by Lloyds Bank in 1995 to form Lloyds TSB. Barclays had no comment. Santander was approached for comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BBVA-Sabadell merger faces at least three-year integration delay
BBVA's acquisition of Sabadell faces a significant delay, as the Spanish government has mandated atleast three-year wait period before the two entities can integrate their operations. This condition is part of the government's approval of BBVA's hostile bid for the smaller rival, potentially impacting BBVA's expansion plans, reported Reuters. The Spanish government, aiming to protect jobs and maintain financial stability, has stipulated that BBVA and Sabadell must remain separate legal entities with independent management for at least three years. Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo stated, "The government has authorised the BBVA and Sabadell deal on the condition that, for the next three years, they remain separate legal entities and maintain separate assets, as well as preserve autonomy in the management of their activities." Cuerpo further emphasised the government's focus on safeguarding workers, companies, and financial customers. After the initial three-year period, the government may extend these conditions for an additional two years. Sabadell has expressed its intention to remain independent, with the company spokesperson noting BBVA must assess the impact of these conditions on expected synergies. Spain's antitrust watchdog has cleared the deal, now reportedly valued at €14bn ($16.23bn), focusing on competition aspects. However, the Spanish government has imposed conditions due to concerns over potential job losses, despite the European Union urging Madrid to respect the antitrust decision. Last month, European Commission warned the Spanish government against imposing undue obstacles to BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banco Sabadell, stating that Madrid does not have the authority to block the deal on discretionary grounds. Cuerpo clarified that the conditions do not block the transaction, leaving the decision to proceed with BBVA and Sabadell shareholders. Under Spanish law, while the government cannot prevent BBVA from purchasing Sabadell's shares, it holds the authority to approve or deny the merger at a later stage. The new entity will be eligible to seek merger approval once the imposed conditions are fulfilled. "BBVA-Sabadell merger faces at least three-year integration delay" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
BBVA analysing impact of government conditions on synergies in Sabadell bid
SANTANDER, Spain, June 25 (Reuters) - Spain's BBVA ( opens new tab is considering whether to go ahead with its bid for Sabadell ( opens new tab after conditions imposed by the Spanish government on the deal and will reassess the impact on its estimated cost savings, the bank's country manager for Spain said on Wednesday. Peio Belausteguigoitia's comments come after the government said on Tuesday that BBVA will not be allowed to integrate its operations with Sabadell for at least three years as one of the conditions imposed by the Spanish government on its hostile bid for its smaller rival. "We'll decide on the additional condition shortly, in the near future ... We're in no way keen to delay this process," the BBVA executive said. He added that "all options" remained on the table - including withdrawing the offer and a potential claim against the government's verdict - while also defending the deal's rationale. Under Spanish law, the government cannot stop BBVA from buying its target's shares, but it has the final word at a later stage on whether a merger goes ahead. So far, BBVA had signalled that if it kept Sabadell separate it would still be able to generate the majority of the expected 850 million euros ($986 million) in cost synergies over two years after completing the deal. ($1 = 0.8621 euros)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spain says BBVA must keep Sabadell separate for three years as takeover condition
By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's BBVA will have to keep banks as separate entities for at least three years and protect jobs as part of conditions imposed by the government on the hostile takeover bid for Sabadell, in a potential blow to BBVA's plans. These conditions are different from the competition criteria used by Spain's antitrust watchdog applied when it cleared the deal, currently valued at about 14 billion euros ($16.23 billion) and subject to several remedies. "The government has authorised the BBVA and Sabadell deal on the condition that, for the next three years, they remain separate legal entities and maintain separate assets, as well as preserve autonomy in the management of their activities," Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo told a news conference. He said that the new entity will be entitled to request the merger once the condition set on Tuesday has been met. Under Spanish law, the government cannot stop BBVA from buying its target's shares, but it has the final word at a later stage on whether a merger goes ahead. BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres said on Monday that the lender could withdraw its offer for Sabadell if the conditions imposed were too harsh or if it were forced to accept the sale of Sabadell's British unit TSB. BBVA had no immediate comment on the conditions. The competition review was not final until the government's approval. Cuerpo said that the conditions involved effective autonomous decision-making in financing for small- and medium-sized businesses, decisions relating to staff, network of branches and banking services, and activities of Sabadell's foundations. Madrid had so far opposed the transaction because of the risk it could lead to job losses. ($1 = 0.8624 euros)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BBVA warns it could pull out of Sabadell bid if conditions are too harsh
By Jesús Aguado SANTANDER, Spain (Reuters) -BBVA could withdraw its offer for smaller rival Sabadell if conditions imposed by the Spanish government are too harsh, or if it is forced to accept the sale of Sabadell's British unit TSB, Chairman Carlos Torres said on Monday. The Spanish government will decide on Tuesday whether to impose additional conditions on BBVA's 14 billion euro ($16.1 billion) hostile bid for Sabadell before giving it its approval. Torres said the plan was still to move ahead with the bid, but added: "If conditions are imposed on us that we do not consider appropriate, we have the option to withdraw, just as we have the option if there is a sale of a relevant asset that modifies the purpose of the offer." Sabadell said last week it had received expressions of interest in TSB, which analysts said could be a defensive move to ward off the BBVA bid. Torres called on Monday for a clarification on the potential TSB sale, saying any such move amid BBVA's proposed takeover would have to comply with Spanish legislation. The head of Spain's stock market supervisor Carlos San Basilio said later on Monday he did not currently see any breach of rules that would prevent Sabadell from selling TSB. In Spain, legislation requires the governing bodies of a company targeted in a takeover bid to remain passive and request shareholder approval before promoting or taking any action that might prevent an acquisition from succeeding. "If we identify any behaviour that constitutes a breach of the risk of passivity, we will take action. If we have not done so, it is because we have not found any such behaviour to date," San Basilio said. He said that if the "decision to sell were to be taken by shareholders and then signed off by them, it would no longer be subject to the duty of passivity". Torres said earlier BBVA was not planning to change the current terms of its offer, but that just a potential extraordinary dividend by Sabadell would lead to an adjustment. The stock market supervisor is waiting for the government's decision before approving the formal bid, which San Basilio said could happen in three weeks' time. BBVA would then follow with an offer, with Sabadell shareholders having 30 to 70 days to tender their shares. Torres said he expected the acceptance period for the bid to start around mid-July, saying that August would not be the "best month" to end this period, hinting therefore at September. ($1 = 0.8715 euros)
