Brazil's Itau-Unibanco Bank Eyes Possible Mexico Acquisitions
February 25 2009 - 3:43PM
Dow Jones News
Brazil's largest bank, Itau-Unibanco, is eyeing possible
acquisitions elsewhere in Latin America, especially Mexico, the
bank's president said Wednesday.
"We have a plan for overseas expansion and we will give careful
consideration to opportunities as they arise," Itau-Unibanco
President Roberto Setubal said at a news conference. "If an
important banking institution in Mexico becomes available for sale,
we will give that opportunity very careful study."
Itau-Unibanco was formed late last year by the merger of Itau
(ITU), at that time Brazil's third largest bank, and Unibanco
(UBB), at that time the country's fourth largest bank. The new
merged bank is Brazil's largest financial institution. Itau and
Unibanco shares currently still trade separately, but they will be
unified into a single new share on March 31.
People familiar with the situation said that executives of U.S.
financial corporation Citigroup (C) have weighed the possibility of
selling its Mexican holding, Grupo Financiero Banamex, The Wall
Street Journal reported earlier in February. Investment bankers
estimate Banamex could be worth at least $9 billion, according to
the report.
"Citi has no intention of selling Banamex," Citigroup spokesman
Jon Diat told The Wall Street Journal.
-By Rogerio Jelmayer, Dow Jones Newswires; 5511-2847-4521;
rogerio.jelmayer@dowjones.com