By Amy Guthrie
MEXICO CITY--Retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB said Thursday it
has agreed to sell its banking unit to Grupo Financiero Inbursa
SAB, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's bank.
Separately, Inbursa said it would pay 3.6 billion pesos, or
nearly $247 million, for the business, which will give Inbursa
access to customers in more than 2,100 Wal-Mart stores of various
sizes.
In a statement, Wal-Mart de Mexico Chairman Enrique Ostalé said
the retailer feels that Inbursa will bring "a competitive credit
offer to our business format."
Banco Walmart had 8.03 billion pesos in assets as of the end of
October, making it one of Mexico's smaller financial institutions,
according to data from Mexico's bank regulator. Banco Walmart had
5.43 billion pesos in deposits and 1.79 billion pesos in loans on
its books in October.
Barclays said the transaction marginally positive for Wal-Mart
de Mexico, as it should allow the company to focus on its key
business within the self-service retail format.
Wal-Mart de Mexico Chief Executive Scot Rank said in September
that the company was looking for ways to accelerate growth at Banco
Walmart. The unit's credit card sales grew 50% in the first half of
the year, he said, and the bank had 635,000 credit-card holders at
the time.
"Banco Walmart has proven its potential to provide competitive
consumer credit in our stores and clubs," he said.
Wal-Mart de Mexico is a unit of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. Wal-Mart has said it is looking to "rejuvenate" the
Mexican business, which accounts for about 6% of Wal-Mart's global
sales.
Write to Amy Guthrie at amy.guthrie@wsj.com
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