HSBC offering $ 191 mln for El Salvador ops

HONG KONG, Feb 27 (Reuters) HSBC Holdings Plc., Europe's biggest bank, said on Tuesday it will offer up to US0.7 million to take full control of two El Salvador operations it acquired last year.

HSBC bought stakes in the two companies in November through its US.77 billion purchase of Panama's Grupo Banistmo, Central America's largest banking group.

HSBC, through majority-owned subsidiaries, is launching two tender offers to buy the remaining shares outstanding of Banco Salvadoreno S.A. (Bancosal) and its holding company, Inversiones Financieras Bancosal S.A. (IFB) HSBC said it was offering US for each of the 58.25 million shares of IFB outstanding and US for each of the 399,700 Bancosal minority shares outstanding.

The British lender expects the deal to close by March 31, and it is subject to certain conditions, including that at least 33.8 percent of the outstanding IFB shares be tendered, which would give HSBC a 90 percent stake.

IFB's board of directors had unanimously approved and recommended the proposal, HSBC said.

REUTERS CS DS1057