花旗集團(tuán)(Citigroup)周一斥資27億美元收購(gòu)韓國(guó)韓美銀行(KorAm)，從而在成為韓國(guó)零售銀行市場(chǎng)重要力量的道路上，邁出了一大步。韓美銀行是韓國(guó)第六大商業(yè)銀行。

Citigroup on Monday took big step towards becoming a significant presence in South Korea's retail banking market with a $2.7bn deal to take over KorAm, the country's sixth largest commercial bank.

韓國(guó)是亞洲第四大經(jīng)濟(jì)體，該宗收購(gòu)則是迄今為止韓國(guó)最大的外資收購(gòu)案，同時(shí)也首開外資戰(zhàn)略收購(gòu)韓國(guó)銀行的先河。在此之前，韓國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)來自海外的投資都是私人股本基金。

The takeover is the biggest foreign investment yet into Asia's fourth largest economy and marks the first takeover of a South Korean bank by a foreign strategic bidder. Previous investments from overseas have been by private equity funds.

花旗集團(tuán)同意從一家投資集團(tuán)中購(gòu)買37%的韓美銀行股份。該投資集團(tuán)由卡萊爾集團(tuán)(Carlyle)和JP Morgan Corsair牽頭，前者是一家美國(guó)并購(gòu)基金，而后者是成立于1993年的私人股本投資合伙公司。

Citigroup agreed to buy a 37 per cent stake from a group led by Carlyle, a US buy-out fund, and JP Morgan Corsair, a private equity investment partnership established in 1993.

該宗收購(gòu)交易的成功對(duì)于渣打銀行(Standard Chartered)是個(gè)打擊。總部位于英國(guó)的渣打銀行擁有韓美銀行9.8%的股份，曾被認(rèn)為是最佳收購(gòu)方人選。

The deal is a blow to Standard Chartered, the UK-based bank, which owns a 9.8 per cent stake in KorAm and had been seen as the favourite to buy the bank.

通過這宗收購(gòu)，花旗集團(tuán)在亞洲最大零售銀行市場(chǎng)之一的韓國(guó)取得了牢固的立足點(diǎn)。花旗集團(tuán)國(guó)際(Citigroup International)董事長(zhǎng)德里克#莫恩爵士(Deryck Maughan)說：“韓國(guó)是花旗集團(tuán)的戰(zhàn)略優(yōu)先考慮對(duì)象。韓美銀行和花旗集團(tuán)的聯(lián)合將創(chuàng)建一家領(lǐng)先的、具有全球經(jīng)營(yíng)能力的本地銀行。”

Citigroup will now have a strong foothold in one of Asia's biggest retail banking markets. Sir Deryck Maughan, chairman of Citigroup International, said: "Korea is a strategic priority for Citigroup. The combination of KorAm and Citigroup will create a leading local bank with global capabilities."

該宗交易令花旗集團(tuán)在韓國(guó)的分支網(wǎng)絡(luò)從12家增加到234家，信用卡用戶將從60萬增加到400萬人，按總收入排名，花旗集團(tuán)將成為韓國(guó)第五大金融機(jī)構(gòu)。

The deal increases Citigroup's branch network in Korea from 12 to 234, while credit card customers will increase from 600,000 to 4m and Citigroup will become the fifth biggest Korean financial business by revenues.

花旗集團(tuán)計(jì)劃在6月底前完成交易，并稱如果不能確保至少擁有韓美80%的股份，將對(duì)其持股進(jìn)行重估。

Citigroup, which aims to conclude the deal by the end of June, said it would re-evaluate its position if it failed to secure at least 80 per cent of KorAm.

分析師指出，由于渣打銀行可能提出還盤，所以如果花旗集團(tuán)不能得到渣打銀行和其他股東的支持，該宗交易將可能流產(chǎn)。花旗集團(tuán)表示，迄今還沒有和渣打銀行就收購(gòu)其所持股份進(jìn)行接觸；渣打銀行則拒絕透露其意圖。

Analysts said the deal could fall through if Citigroup failed to win support from Standard Chartered and other shareholders as the UK bank may come back with a counterbid. Citigroup said it had not yet contacted Standard Chartered about buying its stake. The UK bank declined to comment on its intentions.

譯者/李裕