ANZ continues Asia expansion even if Hana's KEB bid prevails

The Australian bank to go after Woori should the KEB-Hana deal materialises.

Just last week, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group seemed to be in the final stages of inking a roughly $4 billion deal for Korea Exchange Bank that would expand the lender across Asia.

Now, ANZ CEO Michael Smith is on the defensive, as South Korean bank Hana Financial Group has emerged as a last minute leading bidder for the KEB stake ANZ spent months studying.

Smith, a veteran of Asia and a former top executive at HSBC, must now mull his options, both with the KEB sale and with his Asia growth plan should that fail.

Smith could go back on the offensive and enter a bidding war with Hana.

The question remains: Is Hana's last minute entry a real deal or not?

The seriousness of Hana's offer for the 51 percent stake in KEB -- owned by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star -- is unclear. The Wall Street Journal first broke the story that they had entered into an agreement.

Hana executives later said they were in talks and would make a decision in a week -- when a decision is expected on a different South Korean bank divestiture that has Hana's name on it. Hana was always considered a contender for KEB but this was their first confirmation of a bid, and a surprise considering the focus had been on ANZ's due diligence.

View the full story in Reuters.