FTAlphavilleFT Alphaville is a 2008 Webby Award Winner

• News
• Markets Live

Earlier this week we reported on rumours that Spanish businessman, Jose Maria Ruiz-Mateos was putting together a bid for Northern Rock. We laughed. We joked. He dressed up as superman.

But here’s a bit more, lest you be forgiven for thinking this man is joking. He’s not. He’s quite serious.

According to Dow Jones, a spokesperson on Thursday morning said Ruiz-Mateos has now made an offer for 10 per cent of Northern Rock shares, “backed by a group of investors.” That followed a another story in El Mundo this morning, picked up by Reuters.
Nueva Rumasa, Ruiz-Mateos’ company (it stands for Ruiz-Mateos Sociedad Anonima) paid €188m in May for the Spanish operations of Parmalat, the Italian food company that almost collapsed in 2003 after the uncovering of accounting fraud. So a 10 per cent stake in the £1.1bn Northern Rock - if funded by suitable backers - is well within Mr. Ruiz Mateos’ means.

The businessman has been keen to acquire an interest in banking for some time - ever since his sprawling Rumasa corporation was liquidated by the Spanish government in 1983. Back then, Rumasa had assets of around £1bn - so we’re not talking small fry here.

Ruiz-Mateos connections with Opus Dei received wide coverage at the time of Rumasa’s collapse - not least because of the Ambrosiano banking scandal. And since, Ruiz-Mateos has donated millions to Opus Dei in the UK and throughout Europe, even though he is reportedly no longer a member. The prelature originally said he had nothing to do with it in the 80s, before eventually admitting that he was a senior figure.

Michael Walsh - a specialist Catholic scholar of Opus Dei (and a source of information for the conspiratorial Da Vinci Code) - says Rumasa was one of many organisations which channelled money to the Papacy through Opus in 1970s Spain - an allegation the prelature strongly denies.

However, as the FT points out, Ruiz-Mateos’ chequered past is likely to come between him and a stake in Northern Rock - regardless of his fabled Opus Dei connections. It’s as much a political decision now as an economic one.

Gordon Brown’s government may thus be casting around for a buyer, but along with the BoE, they’re unlikely to sanction a Ruiz-Mateos stake in Northern Rock unless all other opportunities have been exhausted.

Shares in Northern Rock were up just under 10 per cent at 200p at noon BST.