By Jason Ng
KUALA LUMPUR--CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. (1023.KU), Malaysia's
second largest bank by assets, said Thursday an "unexpected legal
issue" prevented the proposed acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland
Group PLC's (RBS.LN) Indian operations.
On April 2, CIMB Group announced the acquisition of most of RBS'
Asia-Pacific cash equities and associated investment banking
businesses at an initial cost of GBP173.9 million (US$268.8
million). Without the Indian portion, the total acquisition cost
will be reduced to around GBP160 million, CIMB said in a
statement.
Despite the setback, "we remain committed to having an Indian
component to our Asia Pacific investment banking platform," said
CIMB Group Chief Executive Nazir Razak in the statement. The
company will proceed with establishing its own operations in India
by applying for a new licence or purchasing an entity with an
existing licence, he added.
CIMB had earlier agreed to buy most of RBS's businesses in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
Taiwan and Thailand. It has completed the acquisition in China and
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and is on
track to acquire the Australian and Taiwanese operations by the
fourth quarter, CIMB said.
Write To Jason Ng at jason.ng@dowjones.com