It’s more than two months since the government bailed out Northern Rock. What is happening?

Northern Rock has been soliciting takeover bids. It has received, or expects to receive, a handful of proposals from bidders including Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin group as well as several private equity firms including JC Flowers & Co. The bids fall into two categories. One option is to take control of Northern Rock by injecting cash and assets into the bank. This is the approach favoured by Virgin. The alternative is to make an offer for the bank, or for some of its assets. Bidders are expected to promise to repay £10bn-£15bn immediately, with the rest repaid over a period of several years.