The president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorgave its go-ahead to the conglomerate Grupo México on Tuesday for the possible purchase of Citibanamexthe local retail unit of the American Citigroup, and added that the negotiations for the operation to be completed “they are going very well”.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Grupo Mexico was finalizing the acquisition for about $7 billion, citing a person familiar with the matter as saying that as part of the deal, Citigroup will maintain a stake of approximately 10% in Citibanamex.
“We have information that the negotiations are going very well and that one of the potential buyers is Mexico Group”, said the president in his daily press conference. “If they are going to be those of Grupo México there will be no problem, we have differences with them but that is another matter”, he added.
Mexico Groupa conglomerate that operates mining, transportation and infrastructure divisions, is led by Germán Larrea, the second-richest person in the country.
Early last year, Citigroup announced the sale of citibanamexseeking to end two decades of retail presence in the country, although it reported that it will continue to maintain its corporate banking business.
The operation, which has generated skepticism within Mexico GroupIt has taken longer than expected, they acknowledge from the US bank. Additionally, since the announcement, nearly one million customers have closed their accounts on citibanamex.
López Obrador, known by the acronym AMLOhad proposed as recommendations for the sale to be completed that the buyer be Mexican, that he commit to not make massive layoffs at Citibanamex and that he be up to date on tax matters, among other suggestions.
“We welcome the fact that this operation is carried out because these elements are being met,” he said. the ruler said on Tuesday. “I only need to review the part of the tax payment, but we see well that the operation is carried out”, he added.
Mexico Group faces Banca Mifel, owned by businessman Daniel Becker, in the final stretch of the bid, from which Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and foreign competitors such as the Spanish bank Santander withdrew in recent months.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion
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