LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) – Coventry Building Society has offered to buy Britain’s Co-operative Bank for 780 million pounds ($971 million) in cash, in the latest attempted tie-up among UK lenders jostling for market share amid fickle demand for loans.
Talks on terms of the deal are advanced, the companies said on Thursday, adding they are working on a definitive agreement.
The deal would create a group with a pro-forma balance sheet of 89 billion pounds as at Dec. 31, the companies said.
Co-op Bank, which lends to consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses, said late last year it was in exclusive talks with Coventry Building Society about a possible merger, following a number of non-binding offers from potential bidders.
A deal between the mid-sized players would likely restore Co-Op’s mutually owned status and quash concerns about its future after it was carved out of the Co-operative Group in 2017.
A year ago, Reuters exclusively reported that Co-op Bank had tasked PJT Partners and Fenchurch Advisory to devise ways to create value for its owners, a consortium of hedge funds including GoldenTree Asset Management, JC Flowers & Co and Bain Capital. News of exclusive merger talks with Coventry Building Society followed in December.
Source: REUTER
