Royal Bank of Scotland under pressure over Cadbury bid
The pressure is today mounting on the Royal Bank of Scotland after news that the company kept its long-term client Cadbury "in the dark" regarding its financing of the hostile Kraft Foods takeover offer. When you consider that the UK government has a majority shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland, held on behalf of UK taxpayers, there would appear to be a conflict of interests in financing an overseas bid for a prominent UK company which could result in significant job losses.
Informed sources believe that Royal Bank of Scotland only informed Cadbury directors at the "11th hour" that they were in fact one of the financiers behind the proposed bid. Whether or not the £9.8 billion offer will be successful remains to be seen because other parties appear set to enter the fray if rumours in the marketplace are correct. It will be interesting to see how the Cadbury directors respond to the move by Royal Bank of Scotland as this is a company which can ill afford to lose any more customers.
The head-to-head confrontation between UK economic interests and overseas business is only now coming to the fore with many overseas bidders rumoured to be waiting in the wings for a variety of UK companies.
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