From AFP:
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.
After the acquisition, Citibank is expected to rank the 13th largest bank and largest foreign bank in Taiwan, by raising the number of branches to at least 66 branches on the island.
The merger, pending regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, the statement said. “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.
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.
