Pimco and KKR among suitors for £1.7bn John Lewis card provider NewDay
John Lewis's credit card partner has received expressions of interest in a takeover of parts or all of its business from some of the world's largest financial investors.
Sky News has learnt that NewDay Group, which is owned by the private equity firms Cinven and CVC Capital Partners, is fielding interest from suitors including Pimco, the asset management giant, KKR, and a Bain Capital-led consortium which also includes Centerbridge Partners.
Banking sources said the parties were among a number of groups which were expected to table formal bids for NewDay in the coming weeks.
Some of the bidders, such as Pimco, are said to be interested in pursuing a deal to buy NewDay's consumer loan book rather than the company as a whole; others, meanwhile, are understood to be interested in acquiring the whole business.
NewDay, which took ownership of Argos's store card business last year in a £720m deal with J Sainsbury, the supermarket giant, has been exploring a sale or stock market listing for several months.
Last November, Sky News reported that NewDay's owners were lining up investment bankers at Barclays to advise on a process.
NewDay is one of Britain's biggest privately held providers of consumer credit services, with about 4 million customers.
The company is chaired by Sir Mike Rake, the former deputy chairman of Barclays, and run by John Hourican, the former Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Cyprus executive.
Its regulated product portfolio includes direct-to-consumer credit cards, including Bip, the UK's first digital-only credit card.
The company also has a string of merchant partnerships offering digital point-of-sale credit, such as Buy Now Pay Later and instalment finance products.
As part of the Argos deal, NewDay struck an agreement to create a new Argos-branded digital credit proposition, which will replace the existing card credit and store card products.
Last August, it said it had seen new customer acquisition rise by 36% during the first half of the current financial year, with customer arrears now standing at pre-Covid levels.
If NewDay decides to float instead of pursuing a sale, a number of other banks are expected to be hired alongside Barclays, whose appointment is said to be imminent.
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