Madrid. The British Prudential Regulation Authority has given the green light to the Spanish bank BBVA to take indirect control of TSB, the British unit of the Spanish bank Sabadell.
BBVA said on Tuesday that the authorization to buy TSB is one of the regulatory approvals that BBVA must obtain for its offer of more than 12 billion euros for Sabadell, since the British bank would become part of BBVA.
Sabadell rejected BBVA’s offer in May, prompting Spain’s second-largest bank to make a hostile bid in its latest attempt to buy the country’s fourth-largest bank, following a failed attempt in 2020.
Since then, BBVA has received the green light for the operation from the authorities of several countries where Banco Sabadell has a presence, such as the United States, France, Portugal and Morocco.
It also requires the authorization of the European Central Bank, the National Securities Market Commission of Spain and the National Commission of Markets and Competition.
BBVA is offering one newly issued share for 4.83 Sabadell shares, a 30 percent premium over the closing price on April 29.
With BBVA shares having fallen to 9.5580 euros from 10.90 euros since the offer was made, the premium is now around 2 percent, valuing Sabadell at about 10.8 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations.
The combination of the two entities would create a bank with more than one trillion euros in total assets and would represent a new consolidation of the Spanish banking sector.
BBVA, which had set a minimum approval threshold of 50.01 percent of Sabadell shares, said in May that the process could take six to eight months before it formally goes to shareholders.
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– 2024-09-08 01:35:03
