ICBC acquires Thailand's ACL Bank for $550mln

Chinese megabank seeks to expand into Mekong River region using ACL as platform.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market value, said it had acquired 97.24 percent of Thailand's smallest lender, ACL Bank, for about $550 million after a tender.

ICBC had bought 1.55 billion ACL shares, including preferred shares, after the tender closed last week, it said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Based on an offer price at 11.50 baht ($0.36), ICBC is expected to spend 17.7 billion baht ($550.2 million) for the stake, according to Reuters calculation.

It includes 30.6 percent stake sold by the Finance Ministry.

The deal is ICBC's first acquisition in Thailand and one of a handful of overseas purchases by it in recent years.

ICBC announced its bid for ACL in September, after agreeing to buy 19.26 percent from Bangkok Bank for $106 million at 11.50 baht ($0.36) a share.

View the full story in Reuters.