The share price of Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited (SET: BAY) plunged as much as 4.55% in early trading session on Friday after the official announcement from Citigroup came out this morning, saying that the group has sold its Southeast Asian retail assets to UOB.
BAY fell as much as ฿1.75/share or 4.55% to ฿36.75/share while the buying pressure support the price to trade only -1.95% as of 10:35 local time in Thailand.
The Thai bank was anticipated by the market to win the bidding for the retail assets of Citigroup in Thailand back in December last year. On December 7, 2021, the share price closed 4.29% higher after the rumours broke out in the afternoon, saying that BAY was picked as the leading bidder to buy Citi’s retail assets in Thailand.
However, Citibank Thailand has published a press release early today, stating that Citi has reached a deal with UOB to sell its consumer-banking businesses in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The acquisition will include Citi’s retail banking and credit card businesses excluding institutional business in all four countries.
UOB will also pay a premium of$679.7 million plus the net asset value of the businesses at the time of completion. According to the net asset value of Citi in June, the businesses’ aggregate was approximately $2.97 billion.
