If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
National City is looking to sell itself as it struggles to remain viable in the face of mounting mortgage-related losses and a nose-diving stock price. The company has vigorously tried to stave off the effects of souring loans apparently to little avail. (h/t Don) I wonder if they’ll get more than $2/share out the initial offer? They’ll likely not get $10 as their stock price hovers around $9.90 at the time of this posting.
From the MSNBC story on National City looking to sell itself:
CLEVELAND - A day after National City Corp. said it was considering strategic options a report said the struggling bank, hurt by the worsening mortgage and housing market, could sell itself to another Cleveland-based bank.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Wednesday that National City is considering an outright sale to KeyCorp. Analysts said a KeyCorp buyout might lead to large cost reductions.
Lehman Brothers analyst Jason Goldberg said other potential buyers include Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. He noted that the company has sold a few divisions in recent years, including its National Processing unit.
Gerard Cassidy of RBC said an outright sale is unlikely because of National City’s high exposure to risky loans. But a sale of some assets is likely, he wrote, and the company could try to find a way to get more money from a $1 billion stake in Visa Inc., although it cannot sell those shares outright.
