n Taiwan's Ta Chong Bank, the bank said yesterday, as local media reported the fund was part of JPMorgan's Corsair private equity group. The move by Washington-based Carlyle comes after it outbid rival MBK Partners in July and secured an exclusive right to buy a major stake of the small lender, amid a consolidation in Taiwan's overcrowded banking sector.
"Carlyle has invited another PE investor for the investment," Ta Chong's spokesman James Chiu said. "That is fine with us. What we care about more is that the investor has the same kind of global recognisation that Carlyle does."
He declined to identify the investor, saying no contract had been signed and the deal was subject to regulatory approval.
Carlyle had asked Corsair to invest with it in Ta Chong, with Carlyle taking a 25 percent stake and Corsair a 12 percent stake, the Economic Daily reported on Wednesday, without citing sources.
Carlyle officials were not immediately available.
The investment, Carlyle's first into Taiwan's banking sector, could be approved by Taiwan regulators soon.
"We have not seen any substantial things indicating it would not be approved," said Susan Chang, administrative vice chairwoman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), adding that a go-ahead could come no later than November.
Carlyle planned to borrow 60 percent of the NT$21.5 billion from Taiwan banks to help fund the investment, she said.
Taiwan's banking industry has become a hot ground for foreign private equity funds and global lenders, as consolidation in Asia's fourth-largest banking market speeds up.
Citigroup and Standard Chartered have paid US$426 million and US$1.2 billion, respectively, for two Taiwan lenders.
Shares of Ta Chong ended flat yesterday, compared with a 0.1 percent dip in the broader market.
