BNS invests in Colombia

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $51.97 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $57.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 4.0%, www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to buy 51% of Banco Colpatria, Colombia’s fifth-largest bank, with 175 branches and 308 ATMs. Bank of Nova Scotia will pay $500 million U.S. plus 10 million common shares. That gives the deal a value of roughly $1 billion U.S. After the deal closes in December 2011, Bank of Nova Scotia will merge its existing wholesale banking operations in Colombia, which focus on corporate clients, with Banco Colpatria. This investment will help the bank profit from rising economic prosperity in Colombia. As well, Bank of Nova Scotia has a long history of operating in Central and South America. That helps cut the risk of this purchase. Bank of Nova Scotia is a buy. buy…