Deal In Place For Citigroup Japanese Operations

三井住友金融集团(Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.)和花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)已经就收购后者在日本的大块资产原则上达成协议。知情人士周二表示，协议预计将在本周晚些时候宣布。这项交易将使三井住友金融集团成为日本证券业的一支重要力量。作为日本市值第二大的商业银行，三井住友金融集团将收购花旗集团在日本的经纪子公司Nikko Cordial Securities以及投资银行Nikko Citigroup的部分资产。花旗因信贷危机而遭受了大量损失，并且迫于压力需精简其遍布全球的庞大业务，该公司今年早些时候已将包括Nikko Cordial和Nikko Asset Management Co.在内的大量在日业务挂牌拍卖。花旗将通过其商业银行子公司和一些投资银行业务维持自己在日本市场的存在。三井住友金融集团此次收购花旗业务有可能加快日本金融业的转变，西方金融机构因遭受金融危机打击而纷纷向日本企业出售旗下业务引发了这一转变。野村证券公司(Nomura Securities Co.)去年通过收购雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers)的亚洲和欧洲业务扩展了自己的海外业务。三菱UFJ金融集团(Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group)正准备与摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)在日本成立一家合资企业，此前它已向摩根士丹利投资了90亿美元。这类交易正在改变日本各主要金融机构间的力量平衡，迫使各家公司纷纷通过收购或结盟来实现业务增长，以维持自身竞争力。标准普尔公司(Standard & Poor's)在东京负责金融机构评级的董事总经理Naoko Nemoto说，这不会是最后一桩交易，一段时间内将会看到许多这类收购。三井住友金融集团是在击败其竞争对手三菱UFJ金融集团和瑞穗金融集团(Mizuho Financial Group)后获得Nikko Cordial Securities收购权的。由于全球资本市场正处于动荡之中，日本各银行都将有着15万亿美元投资者资产的国内零售银行业视为重要的业务增长点，他们还急于扩大自己在证券业的地盘。虽然尚不清楚三井住友金融集团将出多少钱收购花旗的上述业务，但收购价有可能只相当于花旗2008年收购Nikko Cordial时所付1.6万亿日圆的一小部分。花旗出售Nikko Cordial和Nikko Asset Management部分资产的交易是分别进行的。Yuka Hayashi相关阅读花旗出售日本子公司引发竞标大战 2009-04-02三菱UFJ或收购花旗和摩根士丹利日本业务 2009-03-26花旗将出售日本证券经济子公司 2009-01-19 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年04月29日09:48', 'C'));花旗集团英文名称：Citigroup Inc.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：Cdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月29日09:48', 'SMFJY'));Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (ADS)总部地点：日本上市地点：美国场外交易粉单市场(Pink Sheet)股票代码：SMFJYdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年04月29日09:48', '8316.TO'));三井住友金融集团英文名称：Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.总部地点：日本上市地点：东京证交所股票代码：8316


Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Citigroup Inc. have reached an agreement in principle on a deal in which the Japanese bank will acquire a large chunk of Citigroup's operations in Japan.The deal, which will turn Sumitomo Mitsui into a major player in Japan's securities industry, is expected to be announced later this week, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.The purchase by Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan's second-largest commercial bank by market value, will include Nikko Cordial Securities, Citigroup's retail brokerage unit, and some operations of Nikko Citigroup, a wholesale investment bank.Hit by credit-related losses and pressured to streamline its sprawling global operations, Citigroup put large parts of its Japanese business, including Nikko Cordial and Nikko Asset Management Co., on the block earlier this year. Citigroup will maintain its presence in Japan through its commercial-banking unit and some investment-bank operations.Sumitomo Mitsui's deal could accelerate a shift in the Japanese financial industry, triggered by Japanese purchases of businesses offered by Western financial institutions hit by the financial crisis.Nomura Securities Co. has expanded its reach overseas after purchasing the Asian and European operations of Lehman Brothers last year. And Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is preparing to set up a joint venture in Japan with Morgan Stanley, after the Japanese bank invested $9 billion in the U.S. firm.Such deals are tipping the scales among Japan's major financial institutions, pressuring companies to seek growth through acquisitions or tie-ups to remain competitive.'This will not be the last deal,' said Naoko Nemoto, managing director of financial institutions ratings at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo. 'We will continue to see a lot of movement for a while.'Sumitomo Mitsui prevailed over its two rival Japanese banks, Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Financial Group, in a bidding war for Nikko Cordial Securities. With the global capital markets in turmoil, Japanese banks see the domestic retail-banking business, with $15 trillion in investor assets, as key to growth and are eager to expand their presence in the brokerage business.It wasn't clear how much Sumitomo Mitsui will pay for the Citigroup operations, but it is likely to be a fraction of the 1.6 trillion yen Citigroup paid for Nikko Cordial in 2008. The sale doesn't include Nikko Asset Management, which is being offered in a separate deal.Yuka Hayashi