MUFG to buy project-finance assets of Royal Bank of Scotland for $6.1 billion

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan's biggest bank by assets, today announced that it will buy the project-finance assets from Royal Bank of Scotland, for £3.8 billion ($6.1 billion).

MUFG agreed to buy RBS assets including natural resources, power and other infrastructure assets in Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA).
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''The proposed acquisition, including the transfer of certain employees, will significantly strengthen MUFG's project finance business in EMEA and will assist it in achieving its aim of becoming one of the leading project finance banks globally by positioning it better to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities it expects in the market,'' said the Japanese lender in a statement.

Tokyo-based MUFG expects to sign the purchase agreement before the end of 2010. The transaction will be subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other consents.

Edinburgh-based RBS, which is about 80 per cent held by the UK government is disposing of non-core assets in order to shed the government majority owned tag.

The acquisition for MUFJ comes after it fully acquired UnionBanCal Corp in a $3 billion deal and 20 per cent of US securities firm Morgan Stanley for $8.4 billion in 2008.

It had also acquired two smaller US banks this year.

In July 2010, MUFJ, the world`s second largest bank holding company had said that it would spend about $5.5 billion in acquiring US banks as it seeks to expand in the world's largest economy.