Citigroup Inc. announced Friday its public tender offer for scandal-tainted Nikko Cordial Corp. has succeeded, resulting in the biggest buyout -- at 920 billion yen -- of a Japanese firm by a foreign company.

The U.S. financial giant, which already had 4.9 percent of Nikko Cordial shares, will gain 61 percent of the brokerage's outstanding shares.

The buyout will allow Citigroup to expand its base for corporate and retail businesses in Japan by using the network of Nikko Cordial, Japan's third-biggest brokerage.