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NatWest eyes asset sales
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October 4, 1999: 6:16 a.m. ET
Reports: U.K. bank may spin off units, return capital to fend off predators
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LONDON (CNNfn) - National Westminster Bank shares dipped Monday as investors weighed reports of a radical restructuring plan aimed at fending off the hostile takeover bid for Britain's third-largest bank.
However, analysts described the efforts of NatWest to fight off the $40 billion bid from Bank of Scotland, a rival less than half its size, as "half-hearted".
A string of media reports over the weekend suggested NatWest management had turned away from seeking a white knight to fend of the BoS bid and intended to sell non-core assets and return capital to shareholders.
Greenwich NatWest, the remnant of its investment banking operation, the Gartmore asset management unit and Ulster Bank, a regional commercial bank, were all reported to be up for sale.
Coutts, a high-profile private banking arm could also be added to the sale list, valued by analysts at up to 3.4 billion pounds ($5.6 billion). The defense plan includes the return of 5 billion pounds to shareholders, according to the weekend reports.
NatWest is expected to file its formal defense document this week, but analysts were unimpressed by the prospect of asset sales. "[That defense] will always look half-hearted," said Andrew Hobson, banking analyst at Capel, Cure & Sharp in London. "To come up with this [strategy] looks pretty feeble. NatWest's history of adding value is poor."
NatWest and its advisors aim to demonstrate that the group is worth 1,500 to 1,600 pence a share compared with the 1,265 pence value of Bank of Scotland's all-stock offer, according to the reports.
NatWest declined to comment on the reports but its shares lost 6 pence at 1,435 in morning trade Monday.
Bank of Scotland shares were unchanged.
Royal Bank of Scotland, which has signaled that it may launch a counterbid, also remained on the sidelines Monday, though Hobson said it may launch its own offer this week. 
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