Stocks Fall Hard: Lloyds TSB and HBOS on Takeover Vote

With two days to go before Lloyds TSB (LON:LLOY) shareholders get to vote on the HBOS (LON:HBOS) takeover shares in both HBOS and Lloyds TSB have tumbled, with HBOS falling 10.8 percent to 77.1 in early trade and Lloyds TSB seeing a 9.8 percent decline to 149.6.

The deal has sparked major controversy due to the size of the proposed combined bank as well as shareholders fearing that HBOS is on the verge of collapse.

With the share prices declining it now means that HBOS shares are trading 15.5 percent lower than then the price that was originally agreed by Lloyds TSB, this has been problematic for the deal since the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown along with UK regulators and the Treasury brokered the deal two months ago.

The meeting for Lloyds TSB shareholders will take place on Wednesday in Glasgow. However the HBOS shareholders do not get a chance to vote on the merger until December 12.

Source: timesonline