Vietnam's SeABank seeking clarification from Aeon Financial after M&A deal declared invalid

Aeon said the deal was invalid because of "inappropriate accounting transactions".

"SeABank was extremely surprised by AEON Financial's unilateral disclosure," the bank said in a statement over the weekend.

Aeon Financial in February completed the acquisition of Post and Telecommunication Finance, a non-banking credit organisation, from SeABank for about 26.2 billion yen ($181.81 million).

But the Japanese company later found that accounting information disclosed before the agreement "significantly diverged from reality," it said in a statement last week.

Shares of SeABank fell 0.27% in early Monday trade to VND18,150.

"SeABank promptly responded to AEON Financial, requesting an official meeting between the two parties at the earliest opportunity to clarify the matter in a spirit of cooperation and in accordance with the rule of law," the bank said in the statement.