UPDATE 1-National City in talks with Fifth Third, others
April 3rd, 2008 | by admin |(Adds National City, Fifth Third comments, share price,background)
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - National City Corp (NCC.N: Quote, Profile, Research),the ninth-largest U.S. bank, is looking to sell itself and isin talks with more than one potential buyer, including FifthThird Bancorp (FITB.O: Quote, Profile, Research), people briefed on the matter said.
The talks are preliminary, the sources said.
“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation,” Fifth Thirdspokeswoman Debra DeCourcy said.
National City could not immediately be reached forcomment.
Media reports have said for weeks that National City waslooking to sell itself under the strain of mounting mortgagelosses, exposure to the hard-hit Ohio and Michigan real estatemarkets, and a badly timed foray into Florida.
National City said on Tuesday it was exploring strategicalternatives, which often indicates a sale is coming. The banksaid Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), retained as a capital-raisingadviser in early January, would act as its strategic adviser.
A Goldman spokesman declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that NationalCity was in talks to sell itself to Cleveland rival KeyCorp.(KEY.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
