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TAIPEI : Citibank N.A. of the US has agreed to acquire Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese (BOOC) for 14.1 billion Taiwan dollars (426 million US dollars), BOOC said Monday.
Citibank will acquire all 1.194 billion outstanding shares in BOOC at 11.8 dollars per share through its subsidiary Citibank Overseas Investment Corp, the Taiwanese bank said in a statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The merger, pending regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, the statement said.
A group of major BOOC shareholders, including Polaris Securities Co, Far Glory Life Insurance Co and APEX International Financial Engineering Research and Technology Co has agreed to vote in favour of the proposed transaction.
"The investment is expected to benefit Citibank's long term development in Taiwan," it said.
The privately-run BOOC, founded in 1961, operates 55 branches in Taiwan with 2,200 employees serving more than one million customers.
After the acquisition, Citibank is expected to rank as the 13th largest bank and largest foreign bank in Taiwan by raising the number of its branches to at least 66 on the island.
Robert Morse, chief executive officer of Citi Markets and Banking Asia Pacific, said in a separate statement the acquisition of BOOC was a significant step in strengthening Citi's presence in Taiwan.
"It reflects our ability and desire to complement our robust organic growth plans in the Asia Pacific region with strategic acquisitions, and to serve our clients better by expanding both our domestic presence and product offerings."
Citi Taiwan country officer Morris Li said the acquisition supports a long term growth strategy in Taiwan, to go deeper into the local market and reach a broader base of customers across all areas of banking.
In November 2006, Standard Chartered, the Britain-based emerging markets bank, completed a tender offer to take over Hsinchu International Bank for 1.2 billion US dollars.
Citibank to acquire Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese for US$426m
- AFP/ir
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