The investors, which include around 140 institutions such as pension funds, asset managers and charities, claim they lost around £300m when approving the takeover in 2008.
A claim against the state-backed bank is understood to have been filed on Tuesday after thousands of shareholders added their names to the lawsuit in the last two weeks ahead of a deadline, the Telegraph reports.
The claim had to be made ahead of a Wednesday deadline – the six-year anniversary of shareholders approving the deal.
Shareholders claim that Lloyds breached its fiduciary duty by neglecting to reveal the true state of HBOS’s dire finances ahead of the vote. The bank will file a defence next month.
The claimants, represented by the law firm Harcus Sinclair, are believed to have held around 300m shares and are seeking compensation of roughly £1 per share.
The identity of the institutions is unknown, but can be expected to be revealed in the coming days as the claim document becomes public.
However, it is believed to include a mix of investors in the UK, US and elsewhere.
The final number of investors involved in the lawsuit could change. It is believed that a parallel claim naming more shareholders could arrive up until the six-year anniversary of the takeover being completed in January.
Less than two weeks ago, it was reported that 5,000 investors had joined in the lawsuit, meaning there has been a last-minute rush to join the case. It is understood that institutions are still being added to the claim, and that the total number involved could rise yet higher.
Sir Victor Blank and Eric Daniels, the bank’s chairman and chief executive at the time, are named in the lawsuit, as are other executives.
