Nationwide to complete £2.9bn Virgin Money takeover next month

Nationwide’s £2.9 billion takeover of rival Virgin Money is expected to complete next month after the deal was given the green light by the UK’s financial regulators.

The lenders said in statement to the stock market that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have both approved the takeover.

It comes after the building society agreed to the takeover of its London-listed rival in March.

Nationwide struck the takeover deal with a 220p-a-share offer for Virgin Money, including a planned 2p-per-share dividend payout.

Hearing

The planned takeover will bring together Britain’s fifth and sixth largest retail lenders, creating a combined group with around 24.5 million customers, more than 25,000 staff and nearly 700 branches.

But the move is set to ultimately spell the end of the Virgin Money brand, with Nationwide planning to rebrand the Virgin Money business as Nationwide within six years, although it will keep the two brands initially.

On Friday, the banks said that “all relevant regulatory approvals have now been received” to push forward with the deal, having been cleared by the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in July.

The deal will still need to be sanctioned in court, with a hearing due to take place on September 27.

As a result, the deal is expected to formally complete on October 1, the banks said.