Co-operative Group Ltd. is near an agreement with Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) on the final terms of a deal to buy some 630 branches, the Financial Times reported on its website Thursday, citing people close to the process. The deal could come at a sharp discount to the GBP1.5 billion previously estimated, but Lloyds could get extra payments if the business performs well over a period of years, the FT reported the people as saying. If these pay out in full, LLoyds could get close to GBP1 billion for the branches, the FT said. The Co-op's board plans to meet early next week to decide, the FT reported. Full story: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e206edd8-cb5b-11e1-b896-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_banks%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct#axzz204p8ObGz
