Shares up 7% after announcement as Jaime Gilinski Bacal seeks exit three years after helping to rescue bank
Metro Bank is putting itself up for sale three years after its near-collapse, in a move that could hand a £420m windfall to its Colombian billionaire investor, Jaime Gilinski Bacal.
Metro Bank made the rare decision to publicly announce it was open to bids on Thursday, paving the way for a wider pool of suitors. The announcement pushed the share price up by 7% by mid-morning, valuing the bank at around £1.3bn.
If successful, the sale would allow Gilinski Bacal a chance to sell out of the bank he helped save from near-failure in late 2023.
The 68-year-old banking tycoon, who took a seat on Metro’s board after securing a 53% stake three years ago, has already seen a sixfold increase in the value of his shares, which he bought for just 30p each as part of a wider rescue deal. That means that at Thursday’s 190p share price, his British Virgin Island-based vehicle Spaldy Investments, could cash out with a £427m windfall.
It would mark the latest turnaround success for the billionaire, who made his fortune snapping up assets of struggling lenders on the cheap, before overhauling their operations and selling them on for a big profit.
