By Robb M. Stewart

 

MELBOURNE, Australia--The parent of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank has made an offer to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's Williams & Glyn unit, bidding for the consumer bank in move to bolster its operations following this year's initial public offering.

CYBG PLC, which was spun off this year by National Australia Bank Ltd. and listed in London and Sydney, on Wednesday said it had made a preliminary and non-binding proposal to RBS for the Williams & Glyn operations. Talks were ongoing and there was no certainty a deal would be concluded or on what terms a deal might be agreed, it said in a statement to the Australian securities exchange.

The company said its board had a duty to continually evaluate all potential opportunities to enhance the business, but would only seek out combinations that were in line with CYBG's strategic objectives.

Following its government bailout, RBS is required under European Union state aid rules to spin off 314 branches. These were bundled under the Williams & Glyn brand, and RBS is required to unload the business by the end of next year.

In August, RBS said it planned to sell the unit rather than continue an expensive plan to list it. That decision came shortly after RBS received an offer for Williams & Glyn from the U.K. arm of Banco Santander, according to people familiar with the offer, The Wall Street Journal reported.

CYBG floated in February after National Australia Bank handed the bulk of its U.K. operation to its shares and launched an IPO for the remainder. NAB bought Glasgow-based Clydesdale in 1987 before picking up Yorkshire Bank in 1990.

 

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2016 19:56 ET (23:56 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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