MADRID (Reuters) – Mexico’s competition authority Cofece has given BBVA the green light to take indirect control of the stakes that Sabadell holds in several units in Mexico, BBVA said on Monday.
The authorisation to buy Sabadell Mexico is one of the regulatory approvals the Spanish banking giant has to secure for its hostile takeover bid for its smaller rival Sabadell.
Mexico is BBVA’s main market, where it makes around half of its overall profits.
The Mexican authority concluded in its decision that “the notified transaction would have low probability of impacting the competition process and free economic activity”, BBVA said in a statement.
BBVA is working on concessions aimed at securing approval for the acquisition of Sabadell after Spain’s competition watchdog said last month that its bid, initially valued at 12.28 billion euros ($13 billion), must undergo a longer antitrust review.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Andrei Khalip)
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