The Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed on Tuesday to buy up to 75 per cent of the Bank of Ayudhya for around 560 billion yen ($5.6 billion).
Under the terms of the deal, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, one of Japan's largest banks, will offer investors in Bank of Ayudhya 39 Thai bhat ($1.26) for each of their shares in the lender, the fifth-largest in Thailand. The offer is 5.4 per cent above the bank's closing price on Tuesday. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial said it already had received backing from GE Capital, which will sell its 25 per cent stake in Bank of Ayudhya in the process.
The Japanese bank said it was in talks to combine its own Thai operations with those of Bank of Ayudhya, whose other major shareholder, the Ratanarak Group, would retain its current 25 per cent stake.
©2013 The New York Times News service
