La Jornada: Citi completes sale of 22.6% of Banamex shares

Citi reported yesterday that it completed the sale of most of its 24 percent stake in Grupo Financiero Banamex, announced last February.

According to Citi, Mexican authorities approved the sale of 22.6 percent of the shares, and expect that authorization to sell the remaining 1.4 percent will be granted in the coming months.

He added that the buyers are “several prominent institutional investors and large family assets.

“Investors in these operations announced last February have received the required authorizations from the Mexican competition regulator and all closing conditions have been met,” the US consortium said in a statement issued in New York.

The February announcement notes that these shares were placed among a group of investors that includes General Atlantic, Afore Sura, the bank BTG Pactual, Chubb, funds managed by Blackstone, Liberty Strategic Capital and Qatar Investment Authority.

Will analyze IPO

In yesterday’s bulletin, Citi specified that once the sale of the committed 24 percent is completed and the 25 percent stake acquired by Fernando Chico Pardo as a reference shareholder is added, it will have transferred a total of 49 percent of Banamex’s capital.

“With this accelerated Banamex sale process, Citi does not anticipate additional transactions in 2026, to allow the current group of investors to drive value creation.”

He highlighted that “the divestment of Banamex is a strategic priority for Citi,” and recalled that any decision related to Banamex’s listing on the stock market will be guided “by several factors that include financial and market considerations and obtaining regulatory authorizations.”

In the document, Chico Pardo, president of the board of Banamex, said he was “very proud of the commitment of these partners to Mexico and its perspectives, in addition to their confidence in our management of Banamex.

“The closing of these operations, added to my acquisition of 25 percent, places nearly 49 percent of Banamex shares in the hands of new investors, which brings us closer to completing the deconsolidation process of Citi.”