Private equity groups Apollo and Blackstone last week “individually expressed an interest” in the stricken mortgage bank, according to the Wall Street Journal.
They join a queue currently headed by JC Flowers, the latter having held detailed discussions and approached numerous City figures with a view to joining the board of a putative reconstructed Rock. Cerberus is also thought to be standing in line.
But, the WSJ adds:
Because of Northern Rock’s precarious financial state, which has required it to turn to the Bank of England for emergency funding, the potential buyers are seeking a transfer of control at a distressed level, putting little or no value on the company’s shares.