Lloyds Banking Group plc has agreed the sale of its Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia Ltd (CFAL), and its corporate loan portfolio, BOS International Australia Ltd (BOSI) to Westpac Banking Corporation for approximately A$1.55 billion in total.

The consideration includes approximately A$1.45 billion for the shares in the operations and approximately A$0.1 billion for the market value of derivative contracts.

The sale comprises a motor vehicle finance book of A$3.9 billion, equipment finance book of A$2.9 billion and a corporate loan portfolio of A$1.6 billion.

This is one of the largest financial services transactions of recent times in the Australian market.

Minter Ellison and Allen & Overy acted as joint legal advisors to the Lloyds Group in respect of the sale, which was a complex transaction run as a competitive bid process and required experience and knowledge not only of M&A but of debt capital markets, securitisation, derivatives and regulatory matters.

The Lloyds Group is one of Allen & Overy’s major global clients, having acted for them on a number of significant transactions. Minter Ellison also has a very strong relationship with the Lloyds Group, having advised them in relation to a number of prior significant portfolio sales in Australia and New Zealand.

The sale of CFAL and BOSI are in line with the Lloyds Group’s strategy of focusing on the UK market and ensuring best value for shareholders.

Victoria Mathewson, who led the Minter Ellison team, said: "As a key adviser to Lloyds Banking Group, we were proud to play a significant role as a trusted adviser in this strategic and complex transaction. It will allow the Lloyds Group to focus on British markets and is the final piece in the restructuring work we have implemented for Lloyds over the past two years. It was a pleasure to work with the Lloyds in-house team and others advisers to achieve an outstanding result and deliver value to shareholders."

Michael Parshall, who led the Allen & Overy team, said: "We were delighted to have successfully executed this important transaction for the Lloyds Group. It involved more than AU$8 billion of underlying assets and required a focussed and experienced deal team. We enjoyed working closely with the Minter Ellison team, who complemented our skills and experience and together we were able to deliver a successful outcome for our longstanding client."

Gilbert and Tobin acted for Westpac Banking Corporation.