JSM Financial: Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan hired to advise AZN on KEB bid.

May 5, 2010 - PRLog -- JSM Financial has learned that the services of both Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have been enlisted by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, to advise on their bid for a majority stake in Korea Exchange Bank.

The banking deal, the largest to date in South Korea is expected to exceed $4 billion and is likely to attract many other bids including a number of predominant South Korean banks.

Current owners of KEB, Lone Star Funds, say the first round of bidding is due in mid may.

Earlier JSM Financial reported that European banking giant HSBC’s CEO had announced that they would not be bidding for KEB ending weeks of speculation.

Analysts say that AZN’s hiring of two leading Wall Street banks to advise on their bidding is an indication of just how seriously they intend pursuing the transaction. AZN’s leading rival was expected to be top South Korean lender KB Financial, but there have been recent reports that the group is now rather considering a deal with Woori Finance Holdings instead.

JSM Financial research indicates that Lone Star has previously attempted to sell KEB, first to Kookmin bank in 2006 for $7.3 billion and then to HSBC in 2008 for $6.3 billion, but the deal’s fell through as a result of pricing and legal disputes over Lone Stars South Korean activities.

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