Taiwan's Cathay Fin in talks to buy Bank of Nova Scotia's Malaysia unit (updated)

CTBC Financial Holding Co

09/03/2017 04:00

* Unit valued around $200 mln to $300 mln - company estimate 
    * Deal would represent deeper foray by Cathay into SEAsia 
 
 (Adds likely deal value, context) 
    By Emily Chan 
    TAIPEI, March 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Cathay Financial 
Holding Co  2882.TW  is in exclusive talks to acquire the 
Malaysian unit of Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia  BNS.TO , in a 
deal that could be valued at around $200 million to $300 
million. 
    If clinched, the deal will enable Taiwan's largest financial 
holding company by assets to widen its reach in Southeast Asia.  
    The Taiwanese group's bank and life insurance units plan to 
jointly purchase all of Bank of Nova Scotia Berhad in Malaysia, 
according to a Cathay Financial statement to the Taiwan Stock 
Exchange on Thursday.  
    The two sides have until April 30 to agree to any deal 
terms, before the exclusivity expires, the statement said.   
    It gave no financial details.  
    An official in the media office for Cathay Financial told 
Reuters the Malaysian banking unit is estimated to have a net 
value of around $200 million to $300 million. 
    Cathay Financial already has around a quarter stake each in 
Bank Mayapada  MAYA.JK  in Indonesia and the Philippines' Rizal 
Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC)  RCB.PS .  
    Its latest interest comes as Taiwan's government has been 
encouraging more investment into Southeast Asia, with Taiwanese 
financial conglomerates seeking to diversify revenue for their 
competitive home market.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1881WT 
    Earlier this week, Taiwan's financial regulator gave its 
green light for Cathay rival CTBC Financial Holding Co  2891.TW  
to buy a 35.6 percent stake in Thailand's LH Financial Group 
 LHBANK.BK  for 16.6 billion baht ($470.12 million), in a deal 
first announced last year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1GK3CB 
    For Bank of Nova Scotia, the move to sell its Malaysian unit 
comes as the Canadian lender has been revamping its Asian 
strategy, including announcing last year it was pulling out of 
Taiwan.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1AP30G 
    ($1 = 35.3100 baht) 
 
 (Additional reporting by J.R. Wu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and 
Muralikumar Anantharaman) 
 ((jr.wu@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2500 4881; Reuters 
Messaging: jr.wu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: CATHAY HOLDINGS M&A/