Lloyds TSB sells Goldfish for €1.5bn

Morgan Stanley today agreed to buy the Goldfish credit-card business for almost £1bn (€1.5bn) from Lloyds TSB.

The deal, which is expected to be completed in February, will see Goldfish’s 800,000 customers added to Morgan Stanley’s 1.5 million credit-card account holders.

The £1bn (€1.5bn) set to be paid by Morgan Stanley includes £800m (€1.2bn) of customer balances and a £175m (€257.2m) premium on the business.

The deal includes the Goldfish operations centre in Glasgow and its 300 staff, as well as the Goldfish brand.

Lloyds TSB said the deal would net the company profits of £70m (€102.9m).