LONDON (ShareCast) - Supermarket giant Tesco (LSE: TSCO.L - news) is said to be mulling a bid for Northern Rock (LSE: GB0001452795.L
- news) as the Government tries to return the state-owned lender to the private sector before a general election.
The Times is reporting that Tesco has shown 'provisional' interest in buying Northern Rock, while Richard Branson's Virgin Group, which tried to buy the bank before the government decided to nationalise it, also expressed renewed interest.
Whitehall officials told the paper that they "would not be surprised" if the bank were sold before the election.
Reuters, however, is quoting industry sources as saying that Tesco is unlikely to be interested in a bid. The industry source said the supermarket chain had expressed some interest in the past, but this had not led to anything.
Meanwhile, Northern Rock said in a statement that its capital level has fallen below the minimum regulatory requirements.
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