Alvaro Saieh said none of the proceeds from an impending stake sale in Corpbanca will be used for its sister company SMU SA. The Chilean billionaire who holds a 76% stake of Corpbanca together with his family told Bloomberg News through email, "None of the resources received will go to SMU."
Saieh also said that he had already fulfilled his promise to infuse USD 300 million into SMU, a retailer, last month. He added that according to the board of directors of SMU, the injected funds would be enough to financing its next stage of development. In addition, the firm also filed to sell new shares amounting to USD 209. According to Bloomberg, the plan to get gather new capital came after SMU said in July that it had broken covenants on its debt.
The report also said that Saieh had denied hiring Goldman Sachs Group Inc to help look for a possible buyer for Corpbanca. Goldman was not contracted to look for new offers but to evaluate merger offers already received by Corpbanca. He added that a cash payment may not be included in an agreement.
After the end of August, Corpbanca shares have made a 46% rally in Santiago trading despite reports that lenders which include Itau Unibanco Holding and Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria were in discussions for a stake acquisitions. Shares of the bank had plunged so much before that Corp Group Banking, one of Saieh's holding firms, said that the worth of its assets which were mostly shares in Corpbanca fell to a point that prevented it from getting new debt, the report said.
Saieh said he intends to expand Corpbanca's operations worldwide. He told Bloomberg, "Corpbanca has a strategic business plan which includes a plan for the internationalization of its business. This is why we have agreed to receive proposals which have given way to the conversations that are publicly known."
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