Competition Commission clears Axis Bank-Citi deal

Axis Bank | CMP: Rs 706.40 | The share price shed over 2 percent on July 26. Axis Bank reported a 91 percent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 4,125 crore for the quarter ended June, topping analysts' expectations of Rs 3,597.7 crore. Despite robust net profit growth, the operating profit fell five percent from a year ago owing to operating expenses rising 34 percent and treasury losses. JP Morgan has kept a neutral rating on the stock and cut the target price to Rs 780 from Rs 880.

Competition Commission has approved Axis Bank’s proposed acquisition of Citi’s consumer business in India, one of the largest deals in the country’s financial services space.

Under the deal worth Rs 12,325 crore, announced on March 30, Axis Bank would take over Citi’s credit cards, personal loans and wealth management businesses that are focused on the affluent segment.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the regulator said it has cleared the "acquisition of Citibank, N.A.’s and Citicorp Finance (India) Limited’s undertakings comprising of their consumer banking activities by Axis Bank”.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors.

In March, Axis Bank and Citi had signed a definitive agreement for the deal, which is expected to be completed by September 2024 and would help Axis Bank gain access to 30 lakh new customers.

The parties involved in the deal are Axis Bank Ltd, Citibank, N.A. (acting through its India branch) and Citicorp Finance (India) Ltd.

"The transaction involves the proposed slump sale by Citi of an undertaking comprising its consumer banking activities to the acquirer on a going concern basis and the proposed slump sale by Citicorp of an undertaking comprising its consumer banking activities to the acquirer on a going concern basis,” as per the summary of the transaction available on CCI website.