GRUPO FINANCIERO BANORTE ANNOUNCES THE PRICING OF INTERNATIONAL FOLLOW-ON EQUITY OFFERING

Following the material event published on June 12, 2013, regarding the intention of Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B. de C.V. ("GFNORTE") (BMV: GFNORTEO) to offer its common shares in a public offering in Mexico and a private offering in certain foreign markets, the investment public was informed last July 16, that GFNORTE priced an international follow-on offering of common shares. GFNORTE sold 389,018,940 (three hundred and eighty-nine million, eighteen thousand, nine hundred and forty) common shares in the offering at a price per share of Ps.71.50 (seventy-one and 50/100 Mexican pesos). The proceeds of the offering will be Ps.27,814,854,210.00 (twenty-seven billion, eight hundred and fourteen million eight hundred and fifty-four thousand, two hundred and ten 0/100 Mexican pesos), approximately 2.183 billion U.S. dollars, without taking into account the exercise of the over-allotment options. The settlement date of this offering is expected to be July 22, 2013.

 

GFNORTE intends to use the net proceeds (i) to repay a syndicated loan entered into in February 2013, (ii) to purchase from Grupo Generali the capital stock it owns in GFNorte's insurance and annuities companies, (iii) to purchase the capital stock of Banco Mercantil del Norte ("Banorte") owned by the International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), (iv) to strengthen the regulatory capital of Banorte and (iv) for general corporate purposes.

 

During the 30 days following the date of the offering, the lead Mexican underwriters and the international underwriters have the option to offer and sell up to 58,352,841 (fifty-eight million, three hundred and fifty-two thousand, eight hundred and forty-one) common shares to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

The offering was comprised of a public offering in Mexico conducted on the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V.). The offering outside of Mexico was made (i) only to qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and (ii) outside of the United States in reliance on Regulation S of the Securities Act.  The common shares will not be registered under the Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration under the Securities Act or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration.

 

This press release is solely for informational purposes, pursuant to the terms of article 50, section III, paragraph i) of the General Provisions Applicable to Securities Issuers and other Stock Market Participants (Disposiciones de Car?cter General Aplicables a las Emisoras de Valores y a Otros Participantes del Mercado de Valores), and does not constitute an offering of subscription or sale, nor an application to subscribe or sell shares of GFNORTE in Mexico, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction.

 

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Words such as "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "should," "estimate," "seek," "expect," "could," "plan," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward?looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.  By their very nature, forward?looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward?looking statements will not be achieved or will differ from actual results.  You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.

 

GFNORTE reiterates to the investment public that it expects to  continue adopting the best international corporate practices regarding Corporate Governance and information disclosure.  The Financial Group expects to maintain its strategic and expansion plans to consolidate a leading institution in Mexico; in this sense, we will timely inform the investment community regarding the strategy execution and evolution of our operations.  The Investor Relations Department is available for any inquiry or comment regarding this material event at: [e-mail] or at the number (55) 52.68.16.80.

About Grupo Financiero Banorte

Banorte was founded in 1899 in the city of Monterrey, where it first started operations as a small regional player. In 1992, in the banking privatization process, Banorte was acquired by a group of entrepreneurs led by Roberto Gonzalez Barrera. Through a series of key acquisitions after the Mexican financial crisis of the mid 1990's, like Bancen and Banpa?s in 1997 and Bancrecer in 2002, Banorte was able to consolidate a nationwide presence in Mexico. It now operates as a financial group known as Grupo Financiero Banorte, offering universal banking products and services in the Mexican financial system. Banorte is currently the third largest banking institution in Mexico measured by size of loans and deposits. It is the largest provider of state and municipal government financing, the second in mortgage financing and the fourth largest provider of commercial loans. As well as increasing its market shares, Banorte has consolidated its position as one of Mexico's most profitable banks and is recognized for its strong fundamentals by showing sound asset quality, as well as high liquidity and capitalization levels.

With more than 26 million clients and a footprint of almost 1,300 branches and approximately 6,700 ATMs nationwide, GFNORTE's main business line is retail banking, and it also provides a wide array of products and services through its broker dealer, insurance company, retirements savings funds (Afore), mutual fund operator, leasing & factoring companies and warehousing. GFNORTE manages more than US 148 billion in assets and Banorte is the only retail bank, among the six largest institutions of the country, that is controlled by Mexican shareholders. Its decisions are taken locally without the influence of international headquarters, which has proven to be an advantage given the recent weakness of many global institutions. In 2006, Banorte entered into the U.S. Hispanic market through the purchase of Inter National Bank ("INB"), a Texas-based bank, and two remittance companies in 2007: Uniteller in New Jersey and Motran in California. In 2011, Ixe Grupo Financiero merged with GFNORTE. Its strategic partnerships include the International Finance Corporation ("IFC") at its banking subsidiary, the Mexican Social Security Institute ("IMSS") at the retirement savings fund management business, and the Italian insurance company Generali at the insurance and annuities business. In January 2013, GFNORTE finalized the acquisition of Afore Bancomer through Afore XXI Banorte, becoming the most relevant transaction to date in the retirement savings fund system and creating the most significant Afore in Mexico. GFNORTE's shares trade in the Mexican Stock Exchange ("BMV") with the ticker "GFNORTEO", in the Madrid Stock Exchange under the symbol "XNOR" and in the US ADR OTC market under "GBOOY". For further information, visit www.banorte.com.