| Morgan Stanley acquires Goldfish card business of Lloyds TSB |
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LONDON: U.S. bank Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd. is buying the Goldfish credit card business of high street bank Lloyds TSB in a 1 billion-pound cash deal.
Morgan Stanley International's chairman David Walker said the deal is in line with the company's objective of growing its international business. He also emphasised that this is part of the company's plan to commit resources for the U.K. and Europe.
The deal will bring in some 800,000 card accounts to Morgan Stanley's current card base of 1.5 million in Britain. The deal covers balance transfer as well as transfer of the loyalty programme.
Morgan Stanley is paying 800 million pounds for the customer balance. The balance constitutes a 22 per cent premium of 175 million pounds for the unit's business.
Lloyds TSB acquired Goldfish in 2003 by buying from utility major Centrica the 70 per cent stake it did not own, paying a premium of 12.5 per cent.
Lloyds TSB's group executive director Terri Dial said the bank wants to develop its own branded credit card business and hence divesting the business unit. The bank will net a pretax profit of 70 million pounds from the sale. The Glasgow-based staff of Goldfish will now move to Morgan Stanley.
The company's U.K. credit card division managing director Charlotte Hogg said the company will invest in Goldfish brand and strengthen its foothold in the market. Morgan Stanley now targets the affluent customers while Goldfish is a mass market card.
Posted
on : Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:35 GMT | Credit Cards News
By : Rob Davis
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