Citigroup cemented its biggest-ever Asian acquisition for $7.7 billion after a majority of shareholders in Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial accepted a buyout offer.
Citigroup said it secured 61 per cent of Nikko's voting stock in a tender bid that expired yesterday.
A group of investment firms with large stakes in Nikko had rejected Citigroup's offer of 1,700 yen a share. Although they failed to rally enough smaller investors to block the bid, they could still cause headaches as significant minority owners.
Citigroup said it was considering buying more Nikko shares and may seek to make Japan's third-biggest brokerage a wholly owned subsidiary, comments that sent Nikko's stock up 2.8 percent to close at 1,738 yen.
Chief executive Charles Prince's Citigroup had offered to buy all Nikko shares tendered and was seeking a minimum 50 per cent stake. The takeover values all of Nikko at $14 billion.
But with the bank under pressure from investors to cut costs and streamline its business, Mr Prince could face pressure to make the acquisition pay off quickly.
Management at Nikko endorsed the takeover, which is the biggest-ever foreign buyout of a Japanese company.