Troubled Nikko gets offer from Citigroup
Offer for Japanese brokerage by Citigroup is one-and-a-half times book value
Citigroup has made an
offer
for dominant Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial – which was hit with an accounting
scandal in December – for £5.5bn, which is one-and-a-half times book value.
Late last year,
Nikko
Cordial was handed a record fine by the Financial Services Agency for
accounting fraud.
The offer, if successful, will be the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese
company, the FT reported.
The company invited Citigroup to make the offer. An executive disclosed that
under the terms of its joint venture, it was difficult for anyone else to
intervene.
Further reading:
Nikko to sue directors over accounting
scandal
PwC to shut down Japanese affiliate