Mexican financial authorities are close to approving an offer by billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo to buy a 25% stake in Citigroup Inc.’s Mexican retail-banking unit, Banamex, paving the way to list the business as soon as next year.
The approval process for Chico Pardo’s stake and his strategic plan for Banamex is in its final stages, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the process isn’t yet final.
When Citigroup agreed to the 42 billion-peso ($2.3 billion) offer from Chico Pardo in September, the bank said the deal was expected to be completed in the second half of 2026 and was subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals in Mexico.
At an industry conference this week, Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said progress was moving along.
“I talked about next year,” Mason said. “I can envision it closing even sooner than that.”
A Citigroup representative declined to comment further as did a spokesman for Chico Pardo. Mexico’s finance ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Once the government approval is in hand, Chico Pardo can sign the deal with Citigroup and transfer payment for the stake, the people said. He’ll also take over as chairman of the Mexican unit’s board.
Citigroup, which has been winding down or selling several retail arms globally in a bid to simplify the bank, is seeking to sell smaller stakes of Banamex to other investors ahead of the planned share offering.
Chico Pardo is the former chief executive officer of Carlos Slim’s Grupo Financiero Inbursa and founder of private equity firm Promecap. He’s also a major shareholder in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, or Asur, which operates in southeast Mexico, home to tourist hot spots including Cancun. Chico Pardo, 73, has suggested his sons will eventually take a role in overseeing the investment in the bank.
Citigroup said in 2022 that it would seek to exit its retail-banking operations in Mexico. A deal with mining magnate German Larrea’s conglomerate, Grupo Mexico SAB, fell apart in 2023 at the last minute after interference by President Claudia Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
After Chico Pardo and Citigroup struck a deal earlier this year, the New York-based lender rejected a competing offer from Grupo Mexico that sought to upstage Chico Pardo’s bid.
Source: Mint