Axis Bank to complete acquisition of Citibank units by March 1

Private sector lender Axis Bank has informed the stock exchanges that the deal to acquire Citibank India’s consumer business and NBFC business of Citicorp is expected to be completed by March 1, 2023.

According to its regulatory filing, Axis Bank will acquire Citibank’s India consumer business from Citibank N.A. (CBNA) and NBFC from Citicorp Finance (India) Limited (CFIL).

In March last year, Axis Bank said it reached an agreement to buy Citibank’s consumer business in India for Rs 12,325 crore ($1.6 billion) in cash. Citibank’s consumer business includes loans, credit cards, wealth management and retail banking operations.

“Based on the progress made till date, we estimate a reasonable possibility of completion of the acquisition by March 1, 2023, which is within the timeline of 12 months indicated earlier by us, subject to satisfactory completion of the customary and contractual conditions in accordance with the provisions of the CBNA BTA and CFIL BTA, as referred above," said Axis Bank in its filing.

Axis Bank will gain access to seven offices, 21 branches, and 499 ATMs currently owned and operated by Citi.

After the completion of the deal, there would be a transition period of 18 months during which the Citi customers will migrate to Axis Bank.

Axis Bank reported a 62% surge in fiscal third quarter net profit. Profit for the quarter ended 31 December climbed to Rs 5,853 crore from Rs 3,614 crore a year earlier.