Atom Bank sale may be halted after weak bids

Retail Banker International··Read original
2▲0 ▼0Impact / 5
Summary · why it matters

The effort to sell Atom Bank is close to being abandoned after the process failed to produce offers matching the £600 million valuation sought by its shareholders, The Financial Times reported. Investors including BBVA of Spain and asset manager Toscafund are weighing whether to stop the sale because buyer interest has been limited. Pollen Street Capital submitted an offer below the expected price, and a materially higher bid is not expected. If the sale does not proceed, some shareholders may seek management changes, potentially extending to chief executive Mark Mullen, who has led the bank for 12 years. Yorkshire Building Society and Leeds Building Society also looked at possible offers but chose not to proceed, while several other banks examined the business and decided against bidding.

Impact on assets 2

Financials▲ · 2 stocks

Off-coverage companies 4

Atom BankPrivate▼ Negative
Capitalrelevance

Sale process failing to achieve expected valuation, with weak bids and potential abandonment.

Pollen Street CapitalPrivate± Mixed
relevance

Toscafund Asset Management LLPPrivate± Mixed
relevance

Yorkshire Building SocietyPrivate± Mixed
relevance