Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is exploring the sale of MUFG Union Bank, about 13 years after it acquired the West Coast lender for $3.5 billion.
The Japanese financial giant has held preliminary talks with potential buyers about a deal and may soon hire an investment bank to launch a formal sales process, according to a «Bloomberg» report, citing people familiar with the deal.
MUFG Union Bank has about 300 branches and more than $16 billion in equity capital, or book value, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Smaller U.S. banks have been exploring mergers to complete with larger rivals and fintech companies, and overseas banks with U.S. operations are exploring their sale to benefit from higher acquisition prices. According to «Bloomberg,» U.S. banks have sold at a median 1.4 times book value this year.
