U.K. Launches Tender for Lloyds, RBS Privatizations

The U.K. government has formally kicked off its search for a suite of investment banks to run the privatizations of Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS).

UK Financial Investments, the body which manages the U.K.'s stakes in Lloyds and RBS, invited investment banks to begin pitching for places on the sell-downs. Robin Budenberg, the UKFI chairman, is leading the tender process, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Within the pitch documents, available on the UKFI website, four separate tenders have been announced: bookrunner, co-lead manager, capital markets adviser; and financial and/or strategic adviser.

Two senior European equity capital markets bankers said they had received the tender Thursday.

A person familiar with the matter said the U.K. government was looking to refresh its options ahead of the Lloyds and RBS privatizations. The successful banks in the tender process would form part of a panel of banks suitable to handle the sell-downs, the person added.

Deutsche Bank AG (DB) was the last investment bank to handle a privatization of a financial institution for the U.K. government when it handled the sale of Northern Rock to Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money late last year.

The UKFI pitch comes at a time of continued turmoil at RBS and disruption at UKFI. On June 12, RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester announced he would be stepping down from the bank at the end of the year.

The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards report, published last week, urged the government to wind down the UKFI, stating that continued government interference "has interfered in the running of the two partly state-owned banks." George Osborne, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, declined to back the recommendation in a speech at the Mansion House last week.

In April, Jim O'Neil, the head of UKFI, announced his departure. He is set to move back to former employer Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the autumn.

One capital markets banker said: "It is a very surprising time to be issuing a tender."

A person familiar with the matter said that O'Neil wasn't taking part in the search process. The person said that the invitation didn't mean share sales were imminent.

The Chancellor used his annual Mansion House address to announce that the U.K. government was taking its first steps to return Lloyds to the private sector and is now "actively considering options for share sales".

He added that the first sale is likely to be an institutional offer, but for subsequent disposals the government would consider a variety of options, including a retail offering.

Osborne also said that a sale of RBS was "some way off". He added: "I don't want a quick sale of our RBS shares. I want the right sale--the right sale for the British people."

A statement from UKFI said: "UKFI is launching a process to establish a Framework Agreement for the supply of Specialist Financial Services. Prospective suppliers are invited to complete and return the Invitation to Tender by 8 July 2013. It is from these Panels that UKFI would expect to make appointments to assist it in any future transactions involving HM Government's shareholdings in Lloyds and RBS."

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