Shareholders approve CYBG’s £1.7bn takeover of Virgin Money
CYBG, the owner of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank, has gained the overwhelming backing from its shareholders to complete the acquisition of Virgin Money for £1.7bn.
On Monday morning, three motions about the takeover were all put forward to CYBG shareholders, where more than 96% of the votes were in favour of the recommended all-share offer for Virgin Money.
The deal was also approved by Virgin Money shareholders during a meeting later in Monday afternoon.
The takeover, which was agreed on earlier this year, will see CYBG shareholders own 62% of the enlarged group, with Virgin Money shareholders owning 38%.
The group will double in size, serving six million customers with total lending of £70bn. It will employ 9,500 people and have 250 branches nationwide.
Under the terms of the deal, Virgin Money shareholders will get 1.2125 new CYBG shares for every Virgin Money share they hold.
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Virgin Money CEO, said: “I am delighted with the support from our shareholder base in approving the recommended all-share offer for Virgin Money by CYBG.
“Bringing together the complementary strengths of Virgin Money and CYBG will create the UK’s first true national competitor in UK banking, improving competition and choice for all UK consumers, while enabling the Virgin Money franchise to continue to flourish.”
David Duffy, Clydesdale chief executive, is set to take the lead of the merged firm.
The takeover, which is still subject to approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, is expected to complete in Q4 of 2018.
Once complete, the newly formed group will also be double the size of the nearest challenger bank and the sixth largest bank in the country.
