UK government is trying to use Middle East money to buy UK unit of Silicon Valley Bank

The British government is trying to push for the takeover of Silicon Valley Bank's UK subsidiary to prevent the shock from spreading across the tech sector, the Financial Times reported. A Middle Eastern buyer with deep pockets has expressed interest. British tech executives have been lobbying the government to mitigate losses if they lose access to their accounts with the bank on Monday. Legally, SVB's U.K. subsidiary is separate from its California-based parent company, which was shut down by U.S. regulators on the same day. That means there could be two separate buyers for the US and UK banking units, although a potential bidder might want to buy both. Several people familiar with the British bidding process said a Middle Eastern buyer was one of the leading bidders. As of last night, the "lead white knight" was a company based in the United Arab Emirates, a person familiar with the matter said. Rothschild, which is leading the search for a potential buyer for the British entity, declined to comment. Silicon Valley Bank had almost £7bn in deposits when the Bank of England declared its UK unit insolvent on Friday, people familiar with the matter said. Foresight News previously reported that a number of British banks had approached the UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank, seeking to reach an acquisition plan within 24 hours.