South Korea's second-biggest financial services firm, Shinhan Financial Group, said it was interested in buying both top credit card firm LG Card Co Ltd and national number-five bank Korea Exchange Bank. The declaration on Saturday sets up a potential three-way fight for LG Card, majority-owned by creditors after they and parent LG Group bailed the company out last year.
Both sales are expected to draw keen interest from local and foreign buyers, as Asia's third-largest economy recovers from a soured consumer credit boom.
Shinhan's smaller rivals, Woori Financial Group and Hana Bank , have already expressed interest in buying LG Card.
Korea Exchange Bank is also widely tipped as a takeover target once its majority owner, US buy-out fund Lone Star, completes a mandatory ownership period later this year.
"We are interested in LG Card and Korea Exchange Bank but no official talks have been initiated yet and prices are the key factors in any possible deal," a Shinhan spokesman quoted its chairman Ra Eung-chan as saying.
The comment by Ra hints a potential change in Shinhan's expansion strategy, after its former chief executive Choi Young-hwi said in March he saw little need to buy LG Card.
Choi was dismissed last month amid a conflict with the chairman Ra over the integration of the group's two banking arms - Shinhan Bank and Chohung Bank.
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