Chile’s Billionaire Matte Family Bets on Banking With Bid for Rival Lender
- Forestal O’Higgins to buy 20% of shares at CLP285/share
- Bicecorp, Forestal O’Higgin to acquire at least 62% of shares
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Chile’s billionaire Matte clan, with assets in forestry, power generation and telecommunications, is looking to expand its presence in financial services via a merger of its bank operations with a local rival.
The Matte’s financial services company Bicecorp said Wednesday it agreed to a takeover of Santiago-based Grupo Security via an offer partly in cash and shares. Forestal O’Higgins, a Matte holding company, agreed to pay 285 pesos per share for as much as 20% of Security while Bicecorp would issue new shares of its own to swap for the rest. Bicecorp and Forestal O’Higgins are looking to acquire at least 62% of Grupo Security shares.