Nationwide Building Society's takeover of Virgin Money UK PLC (LSE:VMUK) will see an estimated £80 million spent on advisory fees for City firms including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, lawyers and PRs.
The deal is already controversial among many members of the building society, due to its mutual status and the board's decision to exclude them voting on the deal.
According to recent disclosures, Nationwide is expected to cover £41 million in fees and expenses, with Virgin Money spending £38 million, with around £10 million of fees related to the scrutiny by both the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority, according to a Telegraph report.
Advisory roles are led by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan for Virgin Money, and UBS for Nationwide, with payments of £30.5 million and £15.5 million respectively.
Additional expenditures for Nationwide include over £12 million in legal fees and £1.40 million towards PR.
Criticism of the Nationwide board's lack of member vote has seen a public petition gathering over 3,000 signatures.
The board has stated its belief that the acquisition will add profits for the group that will improve the financial strength of the society and so enable a greater level of member financial benefits and incentives, including through better savings and mortgage rates compared to the market average.