By Cristina Roca
Shares in Spanish lender Banco de Sabadell SA rose Monday after its British retail-bank business caught the eye of a competitor.
Banco de Sabadell was approached by the U.K.'s Co-Operative Bank PLC this weekend over a potential 1 billion pounds ($1.37 billion) acquisition of its subsidiary TSB Banking Group, a company spokesman said Monday. Sabadell rejected the offer and the two companies aren't in talks, the spokesman said.
At 1324 GMT, shares in Sabadell traded 4.6% higher at EUR0.68.
Confirming weekend reports, Co-Op Bank said earlier on Monday that it sent a letter to Sabadell over a potential acquisition of TSB. Sky News reported Sunday that the U.K. bank was willing to pay more than GBP1 billion for the business.
The approach for TSB vindicates Sabadell's decision to hold on to the U.K. business and restructure it in house, Citi analysts said in a note. Just last year, when Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA made an offer for Sabadell, it assigned an implied zero value to TSB, they noted.
Write to Cristina Roca at cristina.roca@wsj.com