U.S. financial services giant Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday it will launch a public tender offer for Nikko Cordial Corp. from Thursday through Apr. 26 for 1,700 yen per share -- a price Citigroup said it would not increase.
Citigroup raised its purchasing price to 1,700 yen from its initial bid of 1,350 yen, the day after the Tokyo Stock Exchange made the surprise decision not to delist Nikko Cordial for accounting fraud.
Citigroup wants to make Nikko a subsidiary. It is aiming to get a majority of shares, but says it will buy as many as are offered for sale. Purchasing all available shares would cost Citigroup 1.68 trillion yen, 430 billion yen more than under its initial offer of 1,350 yen per share.