Friday February 13, 04:47 AM
UPDATE 1-SMFG, Daiwa may bid jointly for Nikko Cordial-media
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Daiwa Securities Group Inc, two top Japanese financial firms, may make a joint bid for Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C - news) 's Japanese brokerage, the Sankei newspaper reported on Friday.
Citigroup has been looking to sell the unit, Nikko Cordial Securities, as part of a plan to shed non-core assets and return to profitability after racking up more than $92 billion in credit losses.
The U.S. bank formally began the sale process on Thursday, and Sumitomo Mitsui, as well as rivals Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial (Munich: 200455 - news) expressed interest, sources have told Reuters.
But instead of bidding on its own, Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan's No. 3 bank, is likely to make an offer together with Daiwa Securities (Munich: 857092 - news) , the country's second-largest brokerage, the Sankei said.
Sumitomo Mitsui and Daiwa already have close ties, including joint investment banking venture Daiwa Securities SMBC.
By bidding together the two firms would be able to lower their individual costs, and share the risk of the investment. Nikko Cordial (Berlin: NIK1.BE - news) , Japan's third-largest brokerage, is expected to carry a price tag of 300- 500 billion yen ($3.3 billion- $5.5 billion).
A spokeswoman for Sumitomo Mitsui, Chika Togawa, said the bank was considering various strategies for its securities business, but declined to comment further.
A spokesman for Daiwa said the brokerage was considering various opportunities, but had yet to make any formal decisions.
A successful joint bid for Nikko Cordial would put more assets under the management of the Sumitomo Mitsui-Daiwa alliance than those held by Japan's biggest brokerage group, Nomura Holdings (N33.SI - news) , the Sankei said.
(Reporting by David Dolan; additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi and Junko Fujita, editing by Chris Gallagher) ($1=91.12 Yen) Keywords: CITIGROUP/JAPAN
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
