CIC Securities, the stockbroking arm of French banking group Crédit Mutuel, has pulled out of talks to buy NCB Stockbrokers from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBOS).
The talks, which first came to light in mid-February, were expected to be completed by mid to late-March, with the French group expected to pay around €25 million for NCB, the third-largest Irish stockbroker.
But CIC dropped out of the talks in recent days with the price to be paid proving the main stumbling block to successful completion of a deal.
The current uncertainty and turmoil in world stock markets was unlikely to have helped RBOS secure the best price for the Irish company, industry sources said.
NCB and its Irish parent, Ulster Bank, are likely to review other options for the group with a management buyout (MBO) among the possibilities likely to be considered.
They are also likely to explore previous expressions of interest in the firm. It is believed that NCB attracted interest from up to four parties, including AIB Capital Markets, which owns Goodbody Stockbrokers. British stockbroker Teather & Greenwood has also been mentioned as a potential buyer. Similar to NCB, it is a member of the European Securities Network, a pan-European grouping of brokers of which CIC is also a member.
Irish Life & Permanent and Anglo Irish Bank have previously ruled themselves out of the running, but Investec, the South African bank that acquired Gandon Capital from GE Capital in Ireland in 2000, has been mentioned as a possible buyer.
Based in Dublin's IFSC, NCB was acquired from Mr Dermot Desmond by Ulster Bank, RBOS's Irish retail banking subsidiary, for about €25 million in 1994.
Headed by Mr Conor O'Kelly, it employs 150 staff and operates in equities, bonds, money broking, corporate finance, funds listing and venture capital.
