India and Vietnam will jointly pitch for taking over the energy assets of British energy giant BP in the Southeast Asian country, the Press Trust of India reported Thursday. India's flagship explorer ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), backed by public sector company Oil India Ltd and Vietnam's national oil firm PetroVietnam, will make a joint bid for BP's 35 percent stake in a Vietnamese offshore gas block, the news agency said, quoting Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora. Under its contract with Vietnam, BP has to give first preference to existing partners in the block, the agency said. OVL has a 45 percent stake in the gas block, while PetroVietnam holds the remaining 20 percent. BP's asset sale — to help pay for damages stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster — presents an investment opportunity for energy-hungry India as the country looks to obtain more fuel supplies for its fast-growing economy. […]

Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), the south-based, old private sector lender, is in talks with Citigroup to acquire CitiFinancial Consumer Finance India, the struggling non-banking finance company which gives retail loans to low-income borrowers. LVB has hired investment bank JM Financial to carry out due diligence of CitiFinancial, which has a `9,000-crore balance sheet, 116 branches and close to 1,600 employees. “It’s an interesting move for a conservative mid-sized bank which has stayed away from acquisitions,” said a person familiar with the proposal. The LVB board recently cleared a proposal to float a wholly-owned housing finance subsidiary. This new outfit intends to acquire CitiFinancial. A Citi spokesperson declined to comment. CitiFinancial is part of Citi Holdings, which houses the non-core businesses of the global banking and financial services group. Citicorp, meanwhile, controls core divisions such as Citibank, the investment banking arm Citigroup Global Markets and the private equity arm CVC. In early 2009, Citi took a decision to identify non-core businesses which would be hived off over time. […]