China Construction Bank Corporation Limited (“CCB”) confirmed today it completed the closing of its acquisition of 72.00% total share capital of Banco Industrial e Comercial S.A. (“BICBANCO” or “BIC”) for a total consideration of approximately 1.6 billion Brazilian Reais on August 29, 2014 Brazil Time. After the closing, CCB will, in compliance with relevant rules of Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (the Brazilian Securities Commission), initiate an integrated offer (including a mandatory tender offer) to acquire BIC’s remaining shares held by minority shareholders. This transaction is to date the largest control acquisition made by a Chinese commercial bank out of China and has great strategic importance to CCB’s globalization development.
On November 1, 2013 Beijing Time (October 31, Brazil Time), CCB and BIC’s controlling group, Bezerra de Menezes family, signed the Share Purchase and Sale Agreement. This transaction was approved by China Banking Regulatory Commission and Banco Central do Brasil (Central Bank of Brazil) on April 2, 2014 and July 23, 2014 respectively, as well as by all other relevant regulatory authorities.
Brazil has been an important target market under CCB’s overseas expansion strategy. In recent years, Sino-Brazilian bilateral trade volume has grown steadily, with further enhanced cooperation in power generation, agriculture, mining, and infrastructure construction among other areas. Sino-Brazilian economic and trade cooperation has seen continuous improvement. In the future, CCB will use this newly acquired platform as a stepping stone in Latin America, focusing on an actionable expansion plan with appropriate measures to achieve steady growth for the bank. CCB aims to quickly integrate the bank into its global network, expand asset size, improve operational performance, bring together personnel and cultures, and realize the expected synergies.。