Egg could be in line for a £900m buy-out a year after majority shareholder Prudential decided the UK ebank-cum-credit-card outfit was not for sale.

US credit card giant MBNA is prepping a £900m approach for Egg, according to The Observer, which reports that financial advisors have already been hired for the deal.

Last year, MBNA was named as one of the runners and riders taking part in the "great Egg race".

But Prudential - which owns 79 per cent of Egg - pulled the plug on the sale last summer after it failed to secure a £1.6bn bid for the business.

The Pru said at the time that it made better financial sense to hang on to Egg after confirming that it was "no longer in discussions regarding a possible transaction".

At coffee time this morning shares in Egg were down 0.25p (0.23 per cent) at 109p. ®

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