Brazil watchdog unit backs Itaú's Citibank Brasil deal under conditions
SAO PAULO, July 12 (Reuters) - A unit of Brazil's antitrust watchdog Cade backs Itaú Unibanco Holding SA's planned purchase of Citigroup Inc's retail banking assets in the country, tied to a series of self-imposed limits aimed at preserving competition.
In Wednesday's edition of the government gazette, Cade's general superintendency recommended the transaction be approved on condition a so-called concentration act proposed by both Itaú and Banco Citibank Brasil SA be fully implemented. Terms of the act were not detailed.
Itaú, Latin America's No. 1 by market value, agreed on Oct. 8 to pay $220 million for Banco Citibank Brasil SA's retail banking and insurance assets, and Citigroup's stakes in automated teller machine operator TecBan Tecnologia Bancaria SA and consumer structured finance firm Cia Brasileira de Securitização SA. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Gabriela Mello)
