GDB consortium loses a member
20 December 2006
One member of the Citigroup-led consortium that this week received approval to take control of Guangdong Development Bank (GDB) has been dropped from the ticket at the last minute. The 8% stake in GDB, which was to go to Puhua Investment, will now be taken by Citic Trust, the Financial Times reported. Neither Citigroup nor Citic Trust was willing to comment while Puhua could not be reached. The change bumps Citic Trust's holding to 20%, giving it parity with Citigroup, China Life and China's State Grid. IBM is taking 4.74% and Guangdong Finance Investment Co 0.85%. Citigroup is to have operational control of the troubled lender. The consortium's US$3.1 billion bid for 85.6% of GDB beat offers from Societe Generale and Ping An Insurance.