Northern Rock shares volatile on pair of buyout bids

Northern Rock shares fell over uncertainty about the bank's price on Tuesday after a pair of suitors submitted bids for the embattled UK bank.

Buyout firms J.C. Flowers and Cerberus both proposed bids, according to reports.

The JC flowers bid would repay 15 billion pounds in emergency loans to the Bank of England and another 10 billion pounds in repayment by the end of 2010, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. The business would then become private, keep the Northern Rock name, and its presence in the northeast of England, the person said. JC flowers would inject about 1 billion pounds to support the bank's balance sheet and underwrite a new business plan.

U.S. buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP also submitted a bid, however details were not available.

Shares fell more than 40 percent after news of the JC flowers bid but recovered after the Cerberus bid was made public to close down 6.91 percent to 97 pence.