Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. is considering seeking a court order to halt negotiations between UFJ Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. to merge their trust banking business, company sources said Saturday.
Sumitomo Trust, which agreed with UFJ Holdings in May to buy UFJ Trust Bank, is expected to file the suit with the Tokyo District Court, the sources said.
Sumitomo Trust is also considering filing a damages suit against UFJ and its executives, they said.
The Supreme Court in late August rejected Sumitomo Trust's request for a provisional injunction against the UFJ-Mitsubishi Tokyo merger talks, saying Sumitomo Trust will not "suffer from considerable damage or be exposed to imminent danger" if the merger talks continue.
However, the top court also said it would not be impossible for Sumitomo Trust to reach an eventual merger agreement with UFJ Trust.
UFJ Holdings and Mitsubishi Tokyo signed a basic accord for a comprehensive merger in mid-August in a deal that will create the world's largest banking group with total assets of 190 trillion yen. They aim to merge next October.
UFJ Holdings proceeded with a merger plan with Mitsubishi Tokyo as it apparently judged its rehabilitation would be unsatisfactory with a business alliance only in the trust division.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which has made a rival bid for a merger with UFJ Holdings, is cooperating with Sumitomo Trust in an effort to stop the UFJ-Mitsubishi Tokyo merger negotiations.
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