Citigroup’s acquisition of KorAm Bank
Citigroup Global Markets advised Citigroup
In February 2004, Citigroup announced the signing of an agreement with the Carlyle/JPMorgan Corsair Consortium for the acquisition of the consortium’s 36.6% stake in KorAm Bank and a tender offer for up to 100% of the remaining shares at a price of Won15,500 per share in cash, which was successful.
The deal was ground-breaking in many ways. It was the largest ever foreign direct investment in the Korean financial sector; the largest ever cross-border M&A transaction in Korea; the largest cash M&A deal in Korea; the largest tender offer in Korea; and among the highest acceptance rate of tender offers in Korea and globally.
More significant is the potential shake-up of the Korean and Asian banking landscape. It was the first time that a leading global bank has acquired full control of a bank in Asia, heralding unprecedented competition. With Citi now leading Korea’s fifth largest bank by revenues, the prospect of action from other multinational banks is growing.
