9th May 2025 18:41
(Alliance News) - Banco Santander SA rejected a bid worth about GBP11 billion for its UK retail bank from NatWest Group PLC earlier this year after the Spanish lender said the offer was too low, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
According to FT sources, the approach by the state-backed UK lender, which was being advised by Morgan Stanley and UBS, is no longer live.
Santander has since raised EUR7 billion from the sale of a large stake in its Polish unit this week, making any sale of its UK unit less likely, the report said.
The Spanish lender said it would redeploy some of the proceeds from the stake sale to invest in its other regions, as it accelerates a strategic pivot away from Europe to the Americas.
The report noted NatWest's approach - which would have led to the biggest UK banking deal since the financial crisis - comes as the British lender gears up to expand more aggressively in its domestic market once the UK government sells the last of its stake, which is expected in the coming weeks.
Paul Thwaite, the bank's chief executive, previously said that it was on the "front foot" when it came to acquisitions.
FT sources said the NatWest made an offer for Santander UK that was higher than GBP10 billion but lower than GBP12 billion.
The bank also previously rejected a "low ball" offer for its UK ringfenced unit from Barclays PLC last year, the Financial Times previously reported.
Shares in Santander closed up 1.5% at 559.00 pence each in Madrid on Friday. NatWest closed up 1.2% at 491.96p each in London on Friday.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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