CYBG agreed to buy Virgin Money Holdings UK for about £1.7 billion (Dh8.25bn) in an all-stock transaction, creating a bank with about six million customers to challenge Britain’s largest lenders.
The purchase of the Sir Richard Branson-backed bank gives consumer and business lender CYBG greater scale, potential cost savings and access to the firm’s presence on the high street. The deal adds to a number of transactions among a handful of smaller banks in the UK as they seek to raise funds and steal business from the nation’s top lenders. The combined company will have around £80bn of assets, according to a statement Monday.
Virgin Money’s shares rose 2.4 per cent to 363.4 pence as of 8:08am in London. Through Friday’s close, the stock had gained about 14 per cent since CYBG, formerly the British division of National Australia Bank, initially made an offer in May. It slightly sweetened its all-stock proposal earlier this month by offering VirginMoney shareholders more of the merged company.
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“Combining these two businesses has much strategic logic, in our view, with CYBG bringing strengths in SME banking and current accounts, complementing VirginMoney’s well-recognised brand and strength in credit cards,” Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital, said in a note to investors.
Virgin Money shareholders would receive 1.2125 new CYBG shares under the offer. Owners of the Branson company will own about 38 per cent of the combined group. The tie-up is expected to generate £120 million of annual pre-tax cost synergies by the end of the financial year ending September 2021, the statement said.
CYBG chairman Jim Pettigrew, chief executive David Duffy and CFO Ian Smith will retain their current positions in the new group, according to the statement. Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, will stay on as an adviser for an unspecified time.
“By combining two of the UK’s leading challenger banks, we will create a national, full-service bank with the capabilities needed to compete effectively with the large incumbent banks,” Mr Duffy said. “The strategic rationale is clear and offers both sets of shareholders real value, material earnings accretion and enhanced capital generation.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
SCORES
Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)
bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).
Company%20Profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20Profile
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