The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS") announces that its subsidiaries have today entered into an agreement to dispose of RBS' entire shareholdings in Euroclear plc to IntercontinentalExchange Holdings.
The transaction, which was also completed today, involved the sale of 148,349 ordinary shares in Euroclear plc for a total cash consideration of €275 million (approximately £245 million at current exchange rates)*. KPMG Corporate Finance acted as financial advisers to RBS and Simmons & Simmons acted as legal advisers to RBS on this transaction.
The sale proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
The transaction is part of the continued reduction of assets in RBS and is in line with the bank's plan to strengthen its capital position.
The carrying value of the shareholding in Euroclear plc as at 30 June 2017 was approximately £88 million, which represents RWA equivalent of around £220 million. The transaction is expected to generate a gain of approximately £175 million after associated costs, reserves recycling and before tax, which will be recognised as a gain on strategic disposal in Q4 2017.
