Mitsubishi UFJ, CIMB seek GE's BAY stake
Japan's biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Malaysia's No 2 lender CIMB Group Holding have reportedly joined the first-round bidders for General Electric's US$1.5-billion (Bt46 billion) stake in Thailand's fifth-largest lender, Bank of A
Reuters quoted sources as saying that GE received multiple bids last week for its 25.3-per-cent stake, with second round offers due after December 25, including the bids from Mitsubishi UFJ and CIMB.
Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, which was earlier seen as a potential bidder, did not submit a first-round bid, the sources said.
GE Group’s decision to unload its stake in the bank has resulted in a major restructuring. Mark John Arnold, president and chief executive officer who was brought in after GE’s entry, announced this week his decision to resign from all positions.
Bank of Ayudhya’s board of directors on Wednesday approved the appointment of Janice Rae Van Ekeren as the bank’s chief financial officer. The board also resolved to appoint Philip Tan Chen Chong, head of consumer finance and E-Business Group, as the bank’s president. He will also replace Arnold as the bank’s director and executive director.
Upon approval from the Bank of Thailand, the appointments should be effective January 1.
Both Van Ekeren and Tan were brought in by GE Group.
“We are very excited to have Janice Van Ekeren and Philip Tan leading the bank. Among many internally qualified top executives, the elected professionals have solid management experience and deep technical strength that are essential to the bank’s strategy to grow with prudence during the period of global uncertainty, and to continue to innovate our financial services and products, of which the bank is presently the leader in the retail market,” said Veraphan Teepsuwan, chairman of the bank.
Van Ekeren has been a director at the country’s fifth-largest bank since January 2007 and served as its vice chairman. Like Arnold, she joined the bank after a major shareholding restructure, which saw the entry of GE Group. GE now plans to sell off its stake.
She holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago and a BSc in Industrial Administration from Iowa State University. Van Ekeren is certified as a public accountant by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
