A&L says Gillespie no longer joining as chairman

LONDON (Reuters) - British bank Alliance & Leicester ALLL.L said Alan Gillespie will not join it as chairman next month as previously announced, after it accepted a takeover offer from Spain's Santander (SAN.MC).

A&L announced last Wednesday that Gillespie, currently chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS.L) Ulster Bank, had agreed to join it as chairman from September 8.

A&L accepted a 1.3 billion pound ($2.6 billion) takeover offer from Santander earlier on Monday. It said Roy Brown will continue as acting chairman.

(Reporting by Steve Slater)