RBS to sell remaining stake in Direct Line

26th Feb 2014 17:35

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced its intention to sell its remaining 28.2 per cent interest in Direct Line Insurance through a placing with institutional investors.The offering was to comprise 423.2m ordinary shares, with the price to be determined by means of an accelerated book-building process which was to start immediately."Although this disposal by RBS was anticipated, the UK bank picked an interesting time to execute the move as many pinned it for end of 2014", commented Joe Rundle, Head of Trading at ETX Capital. "The move could be political, readying RBS for privatisation, or at least speeding the process ahead of the UK elections next year. RBS shareholders may express disappointment as Direct Line for some, would be seen as a business to hold onto[...]."AB