Gateway El Salvador
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
December 13, 2006
Citigroup Expands Central American Operations By Acquiring Grupo Cuscatlan
Transaction Will Add More Than One Million Clients and Expand Regional Distribution Network
New York – Citigroup announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the subsidiaries
of Grupo Cuscatlan from Corporacion UBC Internacional S.A., the subsidiaries’ holding company with 2,500
shareholders, for $1.51 billion in cash and stock. Grupo Cuscatlan, with operations in El Salvador, Guatemala,
Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama, is one of the leading financial groups in Central America.
Citigroup will acquire Grupo Cuscatlan’s banking and financial intermediaries, including pension and insurance
operations in El Salvador. This transaction will further expand Citigroup’s corporate and retail operations in the
region and complement its pending acquisition of Grupo Financiero Uno, the largest credit card issuer in
Central America.
Operating under the Banco Cuscatlan trademark, Grupo Cuscatlan subsidiaries offer corporate and commercial banking products and services, as well as a growing suite of consumer banking products. The group has $5.4 billion in assets, $3.5 billion in loans, $3.4 billion in deposits as of September 30, 2006. The company has highly regarded and strong corporate relationships throughout Central America. Grupo Cuscatlan currently serves more than 45,000 corporate clients and 1.2 million consumer clients through a distribution network of 202 branches and 263 ATMs throughout the region. It has approximately 5,000 employees.
“The acquisition of Grupo Cuscatlan is another significant step in expanding Citigroup’s businesses in Latin America,” said Charles Prince, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup. “This transaction complements our recent acquisition of Grupo Uno and, taken together, these transactions quickly and significantly strengthen our distribution capabilities and product offerings to serve retail and corporate clients in Central America.”
“Grupo Cuscatlan’s management team and business model have produced excellent results on a consistent basis in recent years. We are delighted to welcome Grupo Cuscatlan and its team of professionals to Citigroup,” said Manuel Medina-Mora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Latin America & Mexico. “We are confident that Grupo Cuscatlan and its employees will help us to continue delivering high-quality, innovative products and services to individual and institutional clients throughout Central America.”
“Grupo Cuscatlan has a rich history of growing strategically to meet the increasing needs of our clients,” said Mauricio Samayoa, CEO Grupo Cuscatlan. “From a basically local operation, we grew to a regional institution as our clients expanded their reach. We are delighted that, as we join the Citigroup premier brand and global network, we will be able to offer our loyal clients and employees top of the line world-wide products.”
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is anticipated to close in early 2007.
Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking was the sole financial advisor to Citigroup on this transaction.
Citigroup has operated in Central America for more than 100 years with a strong corporate investment banking presence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, as well as a credit card business in Panama. Recently it announced the acquisition of Grupo Financiero Uno, which has more than one million retail clients representing $1.1 million credit card accounts, $1.2 billion in credit card receivables and $1.3 billion in deposits in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Grupo Financiero Uno also has a distribution network of 75 branches and more than one hundred mini branches and points of sale. This transaction is still pending various regulatory approvals.
Citigroup is present in 24 Latin America countries and has a leading position in corporate banking in the region, along with a growing consumer banking presence and strong client recognition and brand loyalty. The company operates more than 2,200 retail and consumer finance branches in Mexico and Latin America, serving 13,000 corporate clients, 17 million retail bank clients and over nine million credit card holders.
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Citigroup merges with Banco Cuscatlan
Mauricio Samayoa
CEO Banco Cuscatlan
