Macquarie Group Ltd. is the biggest investment bank in Australia. The company offered a bid for the Australian assets of Lloyds Banking Group Plc. This was according to a person familiar with the process who asked not to be named as the matter was held private in nature.
The final binding offers for the Australian assets of Lloyds were due yesterday. This was according to people with knowledge of the transaction said last month. The sale included Lloyd's Capital Finance unit and corporate loans. The deal was valued more than AUS2 billion, said sources.
Lloyds Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio had been seeking to boost the company's balance sheet by selling assets and cutting costs. This was after the bank received a GBP20 billion bailout fund in 2008. Last month, the British government had started selling 39% stake in the biggest mortgage lender in UK.
Sydney based spokeswoman for Macquarie Lisa Jamieson, declined to give statements regarding the acquisition report. Lloyds' spokeswoman Lynne Machin also refused to comment.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was hired to advise Lloyds on the sale.
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