In Brief: Royal of Scotland Pays $750M in R.I. Buyout

Citizens Financial Group confirmed that its majority owner, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, has paid $750 million for the 23.5% stake it did not already own.

Under a 1996 agreement in which the banks merged their U.S. unit, Royal agreed to buy Bank of Ireland's stake in Citizens at any time after April 1997. Royal, based in Edinburgh, said it is considering listing the shares of $17 billion-asset Citizens on a U.S. exchange. Such a move would dilute Royal's stake, but it could help the bank recover some of the purchase price. It would also give Royal a currency for possible future acquisitions in the United States.

In August, Standard & Poor's placed Royal and related entities on the CreditWatch list with negative implications, citing weak capital ratios.

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