UK bank set for 2012 Olympics sponsor deal -report

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) British bank Lloyds TSB is poised to become the first major sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic Games with an 80 million pound (157.8 million dollar) deal, the Evening Standard newspaper said today.

Lloyds said it looks at numerous sponsorship opportunities and only commented when deals were finalised, while the London 2012 Games Organising Committee said the report was ''pure speculation''.

''We are in talks with a whole range of potential partners and all our discussions are confidential. But we're on course to announce our first major partners by the end of March,'' the spokeswoman said.

The organising committee expects partners to make a big contribution to the estimated 2 billion pound cost of staging the 2012 Olympics. Banks and insurers were the first to be invited to tender as sponsors and will be followed by telecom, auto, oil&gas and utility companies.

Lloyds previously sponsored Europe's annual international rugby tournament, but currently has no major sponsorship deals.

Rival Barclays had been tipped as favourite to sponsor the Olympics, which are being held close to its London headquarters, but that prospect dimmed in September when it signed a new 66 million pound deal to sponsor English football's Premier League.

REUTERS PM KN1833