BREAKINGVIEWS-花旗终于承受了 Banamex 的重担
Citi has agreed to sell a 25% stake in its Mexican retail bank, Grupo Financiero Banamex, to billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo for $9 billion, valuing the bank at 0.8 times book value. This sale comes four years after Citi's initial plans to divest Banamex and will result in a $726 million goodwill impairment charge in Q3. The proposed IPO will depend on market conditions.
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
By Stephen Gandel
NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Four years after initiating plans to offload its Mexican retail lender, the US mega-bank is selling 25% of it to a local financier at a $9 bln valuation. Although priced 20% below book, adding an anchor investor should help the mooted IPO. It’s a long way to salvage misadventure.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Citigroup said on September 24 that it had agreed to sell a 25% stake in its Mexican retail bank Grupo Financiero Banamex to billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo, who will become chairman of Banamex.
As part of the deal, which values Banamex at 0.8 times book value, Citi said it would take a $726 million goodwill impairment charge in the third quarter.
Citi first said it intended to divest Banamex in 2021, and said two years later that it would spin it off through an initial public offering instead of an outright sale. The proposed IPO will be guided by market conditions and other factors, Citi said. (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb; Production by Pranav Kiran)
