(15 October 2015 – Hong Kong) Mizuho Financial Group has ended talks to buy a majority stake in Philippine lender Bank of Commerce after the Japanese bank failed in a bid to convince owners to lower the price tag from over US$500 million (A$680 million), sources have told Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Discussions between Mizuho and Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. who owned the 60 percent stake opened earlier this year, with the Japanese group being the final bidder.
According to WSJ, Japanese companies have so far this year spent $4 billion on acquisitions in Southeast Asia. That is up from $2.2 billion in the same period last year, but down significantly from the $9.2 billion they spent in the same period in 2013.
This is the second time that San Miguel has failed to come to an agreement for Bank of Commerce. It has previously tried to sell its stake to Malaysia’s CIMB Group.
The lender is Philippines’ 15th largest by assets, with over 123 branches across the island.