Citigroup announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to sell a 24% stake in Banamex to a group of institutional investors and family offices for about $2.5 billion.
Investors included US private equity firm General Atlantic, Afoa Sula, a division of Colombian asset management firm Sula, Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual, Chubb, Blackstone, Liberty Strategic Capital and funds managed by the Qatar Investment Authority.
Following the sale, which is expected to be completed this year, Citigroup will reduce its stake in the Mexico unit to 49%. Each investor in the group will be able to purchase up to 4.9% stake, the bank added.
These deals follow the sale in December of a further 25% stake to Banamex’s current board chairman, Mexican businessman Fernando Chico Pardo. Pardo will be part of the process and will be involved in signing Banamex’s new minority investors.
“We do not anticipate any further sales in 2026, allowing the current investor group time to drive value creation,” the bank said in a statement. Citi’s international head Ernesto Cantu said the bank still wanted to move forward with Banamex’s proposed initial public offering. Timing and structure will depend on market conditions, financial considerations and regulatory approvals.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Shinjini Ganguly, Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
