CIMB talks with San Miguel for bank stake
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Malaysia’s second-largest bank CIMB Group said today it was in early talks to acquire a stake in unlisted medium-sized Philippine lender Bank of Commerce from Philippine conglomerate San Miguel group .
San Miguel Corp’s property arm, San Miguel Properties Inc, and the group’s retirement fund hold a combined stake of at least 58 per cent in Bank of Commerce.
“These discussions are currently at an early stage and further announcements will be made in the event of any material developments,” CIMB said in a statement.
A source from Bank of Commerce said the San Miguel group was looking to partner with CIMB to gain better exposure in Southeast Asian markets.
Bank of Commerce has total assets of 90.7 billion pesos (RM6.53 billion) as of June 30, based on central bank data, with 122 branches nationwide.
San Miguel bought ExxonMobil’s Malaysian assets for US$610 million (RM1.93 billion) in August as the Philippine conglomerate pushes its aggressive expansion outside its home base.
Last week, CIMB acquired 70 per cent of Thai broker SICCO Securities Pcl for US$25 million from The Siam Industrial Credit Pcl .
The bank had also planned to acquire RHB, Malaysia’s fifth-largest lender, in June but dropped out after Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank sold its stake in RHB in a deal which analysts said had set a high valuation bar for any potential merger. — Reuters
