op Bank, eyes fresh Metro Bank bid –sources
08/10/2023 18:32
By Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Amy-Jo Crowley
LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - British specialist lender
Shawbrook made an offer for rival Co-op Bank and is weighing a
fresh bid for embattled Metro Bank MTRO.L , people familiar
with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.
Shawbrook, backed by private equity groups BC Partners and
Pollen Street POLNP.L , tabled an indicative bid for Co-op in
recent days, said the people, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Separately, Shawbrook is considering a potential new bid for
London-listed Metro Bank after several failed approaches earlier
in the year, the sources said.
There is no certainty that a transaction will materialise,
they cautioned.
Shawbrook, Pollen Street and Co-op Bank declined to comment.
BC Partners and Metro Bank could not immediately be reached for
comment.
Metro Bank has seen its shares tumble after news emerged
that it had hired advisers to shore up its balance sheet after
failing to gain key capital relief from banking regulators.
The bank has been exploring options to raise up to 600
million pounds ($734.28 million) of capital through equity and
debt injections and asset sales.
Britain's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is sounding
out buyers over the weekend in hopes of finding a solution for
ailing Metro Bank before markets open on Monday morning.
For Shawbrook, an acquisition of either Co-op or Metro Bank
would give it greater scale as well as access to current deposit
accounts, a cheaper source of funding for its loans than
savings.
Reuters previously reported that Co-op Bank's owners had set
an early October deadline for suitors.
($1 = 0.8171 pounds)
(Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Amy-Jo Crowley;
additional reporting by Iain Whithers; Editing by Ros Russell)
((Pablo.MayoCerqueiro@thomsonreuters.com;))