Sabadell Bank He has started the procedures to part with his British TSB subsidiaryin an operation that could reach between 1,700 and 2,000 million pounds (approximately Between 2,000 and 2,350 million euros), as the Financial Times. The Catalan entity would have already distributed documentation to potential buyers and some of them would have accessed a due diligence Limited, according to market sources, according to Europa Press.
Among those interested in taking the British bank are heavyweights of the United Kingdom's financial system as Barclays, NatWest, HSBC and the British division of Santanderaccording to the British newspaper. Firm offers could come throughout this month, which starts a disinvestment process with important strategic implications.
The movement arrives at a particularly delicate moment: Sabadell is currently in the spotlight of BBVAwhich launched in May a Repeated after the rejection of a previous friendly offer. While the Spanish government continues to evaluate the operation and possible new regulatory conditions, the sale of TSB could be a key defensive play by the team led by Josep Oliu.
A bbva offensive counterweight
The eventual TSB sale could significantly reinforce Sabadell's position in front of the BBVA pressure. According to sources close to the bank, the operation It would allow to release more than 100 basic capital points, which would give the entity with sufficient resources to undertake New acquisitions in the Spanish market or to give back to the shareholder, making it difficult for the attractiveness of the Banco Banco offer.
In addition, divestment would reduce Sabadell's balance size, An element that could reduce strategic attraction to the BBVA operation, which aspired to integrate TSB as part of the group's global business.
The Catalan bank acquired TSB in 2015 for 1.7 billion poundsin an ambitious international expansion operation that was tarnished for years due to technological and integration problems. However, in the last exercises the British subsidiary has begun to show signs of solidity: it closed 2024 with a net profit of 208 million pounds, 18.9% more, and it is expected that in 2025 that benefit will grow 15%, reinforcing its contribution to the group, which last year was 253 million euros.
The TSB value, a key piece
Beyond the corporate struggle, the possible sale of TSB reflects a change of strategy in Sabadell, which could be oriented to concentrate on its Core markets, especially Spainwhere it has recovered profitability in the last quarters. The monetization of a non -strategic asset as TSB – a moment of favorable assessment – could represent an opportunity to optimize capital and strengthen its independence.
