UPDATE: RBS Gets 3 Final Bids In Worldpay Auction - Sources

20th Jul 2010 14:34

(Adds detail.) By Marietta Cauchi and Patricia Kowsmann Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) has received three bids in the final round of the auction for its Global Merchants Services division, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital LLC have submitted a joint bid; while U.S. buyout houses TPG Inc. and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., which until Friday were working on a joint bid, have submitted independent offers, the people told Dow Jones Newswires. Final bids were due by close of business Monday. The unit is being sold by the 83%-government owned bank as part of a disposal program forced on it after being bailed out by the state. It hired UBS AG (UBS) to run the auction earlier this year and is keen to complete a deal by Aug. 6, when it reports its first-half results. Global Merchant Services' biggest asset is RBS Worldpay, which processes credit-card payments in 40 different countries. The unit was expected to attract up to GBP2.5 billion. The auction attracted upwards of 30 bidders in its initial stages, both private equity firms and trade buyers, but narrowed as potential buyers were either weeded out or withdrew due to the competitive pricing and/or the complexity of the deal which involves the carving out of assets as well as arrangements for the post-completion business, which will likely involve an ongoing relationship with RBS. Bidders will also have to deal with the technology involved in running the business on a different platform. RBS expects to select one bidder for exclusive talks before the end of the week and may be confronted with three very different proposals with Bain and Advent providing the most comprehensive package, having been working on a bid together for some time and already having complementary businesses. -By Marietta Cauchi and Patricia Kowsmann, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 09:34 ET (13:34 GMT)