Commonwealth Agrees to Purchase HBOS Unit Deal Follows 42% Drop By British Bank

Commonwealth Bank of Australia agreed Wednesday to buy BankWest, the Australian unit of the struggling British bank HBOS, and other assets for the low price of 2.1 billion Australian dollars to increase its market share in Western Australia. The cash deal by Australia's second-largest bank by assets came a day after HBOS's shares slid 42 percent Tuesday, leading a broad- based sell-off in British banks, as that country's government prepared to announce a rescue package for its crippled financial sector. The purchase of BankWest, at 20 percent below book value, looks low compared with Westpac Banking's takeover of St.

George at 2.7 times book value for 16.1 billion Australian dollars, or about $11 billion. [More...]. Thu Oct 2008 07:10 (3 months ago)
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