A group of investors led by Mexico's Banca Mifel SA and backed by US private-equity giant Apollo Global Management Inc. are in talks with banks for about $2 billion of financing for their bid to buy Citigroup Inc.
People familiar with the matter request anonymity because the discussions are private. The family that runs Latin America's biggest real estate investment trust is backing the Mifel bid.
One of the people said that Advent owns a stake in Mifel. Another person says that Apollo's support of Mifel's bid isn't final.
Money Distilled: What market moves mean for your moneyMoney Distilled: What market moves mean for your moneyMoney Distilled: What market moves mean for your moneyGet John Stepek's daily newsletterGet John Stepek's daily newsletterGet John Stepek's daily newsletterMifel is a small Mexican bank with less than 1% of total banking assets in Mexico. The sale of Citigroup was expected to be one of the biggest deals of the year. The number of bids has fallen due to a set of conditions set by President Lopez Obrador.
Representatives from Bank of America and Mifel did not respond to a request for comment.
The number of bids was reduced after the rejection of the earlier $6 billion offer by the board of Banorte. Last week, Carlos Slim's Inbursa said it was no longer in the running for the bank.
One of the people said that Daniel Becker, who is also the head of the country's banking association, has been trying to get other Mexican investors to join his group.
A person with knowledge of the matter says that the billionaire, who controls conglomerate Grupo Mexico, doesn't see any reason to increase his bid after the exit of Banorte.
The company didn't want to comment.
Jan-Henrik Foerster and Allison McNeely helped with the project.
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