Citi on Thursday rejected mining and transportation conglomerate Grupo Mexico’s offer to buy Banamex for roughly $9.3 billion.
“After careful consideration of the proposal, including but not limited to financial considerations and transaction certainty, we have advised Grupo Mexico that Citi rejects the offer,” the bank said Thursday in a statement seen by Bloomberg.
In its own statement, Grupo Mexico said it “respects Citi’s determination and wishes it success in the transaction it has opted for and in the fate it has chosen for Banamex,” according to the wire service.
The “fate” to which Grupo Mexico refers is an offer last month by billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo to acquire 25% of the U.S. bank’s Mexican retail footprint.
Chico Pardo offered 80% of book value, or about $2.3 billion, for the stake.
But Grupo Mexico, a onetime front-runner to buy Banamex, made an unsolicited counter last week that would have one-upped Chico Pardo. The conglomerate, owned by fellow billionaire Germán Larrea, offered 85% of book value for the 25% stake, and the remaining 75% of Banamex at 80% of book value, according to Reuters and Bloomberg.
Mexican financial and antitrust authorities received documents to request approval of the Chico Pardo deal, Bloomberg reported earlier Thursday.
“We firmly believe that the transaction we announced on September 24, 2025 and the planned [initial public offering] will allow us to complete the divestiture of Banamex in a responsible manner and maximize value for our shareholders,” Citi said.
Grupo Mexico in 2023 secured a $5 billion debt package tied to a proposed acquisition of Banamex that would have valued the Citi subsidiary at between $7 billion and $8 billion.
But Mexico’s then-president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, continually publicized his preferences for the deal, saying he would require job protections for workers and forbid Banamex’s art collection from leaving the country.
Later, when López Obrador seized control of a railroad line Grupo Mexico operated, tensions with Larrea flared, and Grupo Mexico dropped its bid.
Citi’s rejection appeared to benefit Grupo Mexico in the short term, as shares in the conglomerate jumped as much as 6% after the bank’s announcement Thursday. Grupo Mexico’s share price had fallen more than 15% on Monday, the first day of trading after the unsolicited bid.
However, some analysts appear skeptical that Grupo Mexico has put Banamex in its rear-view mirror.
“We have been talking about Grupo Mexico and Banamex for years, and there is clear appetite from Larrea to venture into the industry,” Rodolfo Ramos, a strategist at Bradesco BBI, wrote in a note seen by Banking Dive. “While chances are lower today than they were a week ago, we would be surprised if this is the end to this telenovela.”
Alfonso Salazar, a Scotiabank analyst, seemingly concurred.
“Banamex may be gone as an investment opportunity for Grupo Mexico – at least for now,” Salazar wrote in a note. “We question … if Grupo may decide at a later date to build a position in Banamex once it becomes a public company.”
Citi announced in 2022 that it would divest itself from retail banking in Mexico – one of 14 markets from which it sought to exit.
After Grupo Mexico dropped its 2023 bid, López Obrador said the Mexican government was analyzing a potential bid for Banamex. Citi walked away, with the aim of launching an IPO in 2025.
The bank separated its institutional business from Banamex last December.
