Colombia’s Grupo Aval, one of the country’s largest banking groups, secured the approval of its shareholders to start the process for an initial public offering abroad.
Grupo Aval said in a statement Tuesday that “we are in front of a very good opportunity [to] carry out a first issue in the markets abroad.” The financial group’s stockholders assembly instructed the board of directors “to finalize the analyses, studies and procedures” to carry out a public offering in markets abroad.
The banking group didn’t provide any further details or a date when the issue could be carried out. Grupo Aval controls Banco de Bogota SA, the country’s second-largest bank by assets. The banking conglomerate Grupo Aval said in July that it agreed to buy Central American banking firm BAC-Credomatic for $1.9 billion from General Electric Co.
Grupo Aval’s shares in the Bogota bourse closed Tuesday down 0.68% to COP1,470 while the country’s benchmark index declined 0.1% to 15448.08 points. (Darcy Crowe / Dow Jones Newswires)