UPDATE: CIMB To Buy 60% Stake In Philippine Bank; In Talks For RBS Morgans Stake
08 Mayo 2012 - 6:21AM
Noticias Dow Jones
KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Malaysian lender CIMB Group Holdings
Bhd. (1023.KU) said Tuesday it has signed an agreement to buy a 60%
stake in the Philippine's Bank of Commerce for MYR881 million
($288.4 million) in cash, which would give the Malaysian bank a
foothold in the fast-growing Philippine market.
The deal to buy the majority stake in the privately held
Philippine lender comes a month after CIMB acquired part of Royal
Bank of Scotland Group PLC's (RBS.LN) cash equities and associated
investment banking businesses in the region as part of its plan to
become a pan-Asian bank, and Malaysia's second-largest lender by
assets is also in talks with RBS to acquire its 50% stake in
Australia-based RBS Morgans.
CIMB Group Chief Executive Nazir Razak said CIMB has always been
interested in buying a stake in RBS Morgans to boost its presence
in Australia. RBS Morgans' management owns the other 50% of the
brokerage, which provides equities research, corporate finance and
wealth and portfolio management services.
Razak said the bank is "currently negotiating" with RBS for the
stake, but declined to disclose financial details.
RBS Morgans was excluded from the GBP88.4 million deal that CIMB
and RBS signed earlier this year under which CIMB is set to acquire
RBS's cash equities and associated investment banking businesses in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand and Taiwan.
CIMB and its larger domestic rival, Malayan Banking Bhd.
(1155.KU), have been acquiring regional assets in recent years to
facilitate their plan to expand overseas. Last year, Maybank,
Malaysia's largest lender by assets, acquired Singapore brokerage
firm Kim Eng Holdings Ltd. for US$1.4 billion.
Nazir said CIMB is buying Bank of Commerce shares from San
Miguel Properties Inc., San Miguel Corporation Retirement Plan and
Q-Tech Alliance Holdings Inc, which collectively own 98.5% of the
bank. After the stake purchase, San Miguel Corp. Retirement Plan
will remain the largest minority shareholder in Bank of Commerce
with a 27% stake.
"As an Asean universal bank, this extension into the Philippines
is a very natural one. I believe we are entering this market at the
right time, with the right deal and right partner," CIMB Group
Chief Executive Nazir Razak said in the statement.
Nazir also said CIMB expects to complete the acquisition by the
end of third quarter and expects the deal to be earnings accretive
from 2013.
-By Ankur Relia, Dow Jones Newswires; 603-2026-1233;
ankur.relia@dowjones.com