Scotiabank offer to buy share of Chilean bank gets green light

TORONTO — Scotiabank says its offer to buy a sizeable stake in a Chilean bank for $2.9 billion has been accepted.
The Canadian bank says Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) agreed Tuesday to sell its 69.19 per cent stake in BBVA Chile and its interests in certain subsidiaries.
Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) says it intends to merge BBVA Chile with its existing Scotiabank Chile operations, subject to regulatory approvals.

Chile’s Said family, which owns 31.62 per cent of BBVA Chile, has waived its right of first refusal to acquire the share being sold to ScotiaBank, but is willing to spent up to $650 million to own up to 25 per cent of the combined business when Scotiabank Chile and BBVA Chile are merged.
When the deal was initially announced last week, Scotiabank said the transaction is in line with its goal of increasing scale within the Chilean banking sector and the Pacific Alliance countries.
The acquisition will double Scotiabank’s market share in Chile to approximately 14 per cent and make Scotiabank the third largest private sector bank in the country.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with BBVA to acquire their shares of BBVA Chile,” said Scotiabank president and CEO Brian Porter in a statement.
“BBVA Chile has a proven track record … and this transaction demonstrates excellent synergy between both banks with customer-centric cultures.”
BBVA Chile has $29 billion in assets and has 4,000 employees at 127 branches.

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