©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Citibanamex logo is pictured at a bank branch in Mexico City, Mexico January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Banca Mifel is still in the bidding process for Citigroup’s (NYSE:) Mexico retail bank Citibanamex, Mifel’s chief executive Daniel Becker told Reuters on Wednesday.
At an event hosted by the Mexican Banking Association, Becker, the bank’s chairman and CEO, said the race was not over but declined to comment further.
Competition to buy one of Mexico’s largest retail banks has narrowed to two bidders, with smaller rival Mifel fighting in partnership with a group of investors against billionaire German Larrea’s conglomerate Grupo Mexico.
The two remaining bidders are now conducting further due diligence on the company, sources told Reuters late last month.
US banking giant Citigroup is divesting the unit, also known locally as Banamex, as part of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s effort to sell some international operations and simplify the company.
The potential acquisition would transform Mifel. Banamex is Mexico’s fourth-largest bank by assets with an 11.9% market share, while Mifel holds less than 1% of the market, according to the latest data from the country’s National Banking and Securities Commission.
The sales process is expected to be completed next year.
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