In one of the most significant deals of the year for the Japanese securities sector, Citigroup has offloaded its Japanese retail securities unit as well as part of its wholesale operations to a Japanese mega-bank for 774.5 billion $7.9 billion. The deal with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC was confirmed on Friday evening after being leaked to the media earlier in the week.
The total consideration is made up of 545 billion $5.5 billion for the target's assets and 201 billion in cash, which is held by Nikko Cordial Securities and will flow back to Citi. The US bank is also selling 28.5 billion worth of...