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The Chicago Cubs will start Matthew Boyd in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the host Milwaukee Brewers on three days' rest on Saturday. Boyd threw 58 pitches over 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday in Chicago's wild-card opener, allowing one run in a no-decision as the Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-1. He was monitored through a Friday workout before the team finalized the decision about the Saturday starter. Manager Craig Counsell acknowledged the request is unusual, with Boyd not having pitched on short rest all season. "We wouldn't make this decision, this would not be a decision (if he was coming off) a six-inning start or a 90-pitch start," Counsell said. "We would not be considering this. But, yeah, I think he had his head on it, probably when he got in the dugout. Yeah, and he's asked repeatedly about it." The left-hander has pitched on three days' rest three times in his career, most recently on Oct. 1, 2022 in a relief appearance for the Seattle Mariners. The last short-rest start for Boyd came on Aug. 22, 2017, when he was a member of the Detroit Tigers. Boyd has posted a 4.70 ERA over 15 1/3 innings during his career on short rest. "I think our staff does a great job of preparing us to have success when the time comes, whatever role we're in or whatever the opponent," Boyd said. "They do an amazing job in preparing us to get to where we need to go." Boyd even got loose in the ninth inning of the Thursday clincher against the Padres as part of his between-start routine. "He was willing to take the ball yesterday, so that tells you," Counsell said Friday. In the regular season, Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts. For his career in the postseason, he is 0-0 with a 1.10 ERA in five games (four starts). He has poor career numbers against the Brewers, though: 2-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts. This year, he lost at Milwaukee on July 28 after yielding five runs on six hits and five walks in five innings, and he beat the Brewers in Chicago on Aug. 19 despite permitting four runs on six hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. The Cubs' rotation likely will feature left-hander Shota Imanaga on normal rest for Game 2 in Milwaukee and right-hander Jameson Taillon for Game 3 in Chicago. Rookie Cade Horton is out for the NLDS because of a fractured right rib. –Field Level Media

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* Draft design shows Trump in profile on front of coin * Reverse shows US president with clenched fist * Final design not yet selected, Treasury says (Adds details in paragraphs 1-3, legality debate in paragraphs 8-10, bullets) By Costas Pitas and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Friday released a draft design for a $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump to commemorate 250 years since the declaration of American independence in 2026. The front of the potential design showed Trump in profile with the word "liberty" above him and "1776-2026" below, according to images shared by Treasurer Brandon Beach on X and subsequently released by Treasury. The other side of the coin showed Trump holding a raised clenched fist framed with the words "fight, fight, fight" – a reference to what he said immediately after surviving an assassination attempt last year – and a flag in the background. DEBATE ON DESIGN'S LEGALITY "While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States' semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles," a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement. Beach said on X that more information would be shared following the end of the government shutdown, which has suspended many federal operations while lawmakers remain at an impasse over a new spending bill. Congress in 2020 passed a law that allows the Treasury Secretary to mint $1 coins in 2026 "with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial." Debate quickly erupted on social media about the proposed coin, given that the law specifically says "no head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of any coin" created to mark the U.S. anniversary. The proposed design features a wider illustration of Trump on the reverse side, a move that legal experts said would fall outside the ban on a "head and shoulders portrait or bust." An 1866 law mandates that no living person's portrait can be used on U.S. currency, but that refers to paper money produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Coins are minted by the U.S. Mint. One provision of an earlier law on coinage, first passed in 1792 and amended repeatedly by Congress, prohibits depiction of a living current or former president, but that passage applies to $1 coins minted specifically to honor each of the U.S. presidents, not issued for other reasons, such as the country's 250th anniversary. To mark the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, the Treasury sponsored a national competition and picked for the $1 coin a design by a sculpture student featuring the Liberty Bell, a symbol of American independence, and the moon. The other side of the coin showed former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who died in 1969 and became the first president to feature on a $1 coin in 1971. Asked on Friday whether Trump had seen the draft coin design, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, "I'm not sure if he's seen it, but I'm sure he'll love it." (Reporting by Costas Pitas and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Ross Colvin and Rosalba O'Brien)

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Former National League Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker is the Texas Rangers' new skipper. The team announced the hire Friday evening after president of baseball operations Chris Young told reporters earlier in the day that Schumaker was his "focus" in the job search. Schumaker, 45, was serving as a senior adviser to the Rangers, and Young said he had not talked to any external candidates. "We are thrilled to announce this promotion and have Skip leading this club in the dugout," Young said in a statement. "Over his past year as a senior adviser to our baseball operations group, Skip has proven to be driven, passionate and thorough in everything he does. He has a winning spirit and energy, and we are fortunate that someone so highly regarded in the industry has agreed to become our manager." In his first managerial job, Schumaker led the Marlins to a 146-178 record over two seasons. When Miami finished 84-78 and earned a National League wild- card berth in 2023, Schumaker was named NL Manager of the Year in his rookie season. After Miami went 62-100 in 2024, he asked the Marlins to remove the team option for 2025 from his contract, and the team complied. He accepted the job with Texas as an adviser to Young. Before entering the coaching ranks, Schumaker played 11 major league seasons (2005-15) with three teams — the St. Louis Cardinals (2005-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2013) and Cincinnati Reds (2014-15) — and had a career average of .278 with 28 homers and 284 RBIs in 1,149 games. Schumaker replaces Bruce Bochy, who came out of retirement to lead the Rangers to their only World Series championship in 2023. On Monday, the team and Bochy, 70, mutually decided he would not return as manager next season, though Bochy was offered a front-office role. The Rangers finished 81-81 in 2025 and were in the American League wild-card race until late in the season. Texas was nine games over .500 before losing 11 of its last 13 games. –Field Level Media

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* Trump administration offers $2,500 to unaccompanied children to leave the country voluntarily * Move draws criticisms from advocates * Administration has faced legal setbacks in attempts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children By Christian Martinez LOS ANGELES, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is offering unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to leave the U.S. voluntarily, according to a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to migrant shelters. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed a monetary offer was being made but did not specify an amount. The move is the latest financial offer made by the DHS under President Donald Trump aimed at encouraging voluntary deportations. In June, the State Department moved $250 million to DHS for voluntary deportations with the administration offering a $1,000 stipend to migrants who "self deported." KIDS NEED PROTECTION NOT COERCION, CRITIC SAYS According to the letter sent to shelters on Friday by the DHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, the department will provide a "one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500" to unaccompanied children 14 or older. An ICE official said the offer was first being made to 17-year-olds. Minors from Mexico are not eligible for the program but children who had already volunteered to leave the U.S. as of Friday would be covered, the letter says. Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, which provides legal services and support to unaccompanied children, called the move "a cruel tactic" that undermined "laws that guarantee" a process to determine if a child is eligible for U.S. protection. "Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States deserve our protection rather than being coerced into agreeing to return back to the very conditions that placed their lives and safety at risk," Young said in a statement. According to federal law, migrant children who arrive at U.S. borders without a parent or legal guardian are classified as unaccompanied and sent to federal government-run shelters until they can be placed with a family member or in foster care. More than 2,100 unaccompanied children were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services as of Thursday, according to department data. HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the program "gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future." Any payment would be provided after an immigration judge approved the request and the child arrived in their country of origin, Nixon said. The administration's efforts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children have faced legal challenges. Last month, a federal judge ordered that the administration refrain from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge continued. More than 600,000 migrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke, Ted Hesson; Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by William Mallard)

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CAIRO, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Israel's political echelon instructed the military to reduce offensive activity in Gaza after it said it was preparing for an "immediate implementation" of the first stage of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan following Hamas' response on the plan, Israeli media reported. (Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by William Mallard)

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By Nate Raymond Oct 3 (Reuters) – A federal workers' union filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging the Trump administration's alteration of furloughed U.S. Department of Education employees' out-of-office email messages to include language blaming Democrats in the U.S. Senate for the government shutdown. The American Federation of Government Employees in a lawsuit alleged the administration violated employees' free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by co-opting their email correspondence to force them to "recite partisan words that they would not have spoken otherwise." The complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the out-of-office email responses are crafted to appear as if the employees are speaking in the first person, suggesting the language should be ascribed to the furloughed workers. The employees belong to a department that Republican President Donald Trump says should be dismantled. Some of the employees were already on administrative leave due to pending mass layoffs at the Education Department, the lawsuit said. Others were furloughed after Congress failed to enact spending legislation to avert a government shutdown that began on Wednesday and is set to continue into next week. The Education Department had planned to furlough about 87% of its employees if a shutdown occurred, the complaint said. The lawsuit said that after the shutdown began, many Education Department employees discovered that the language in the out-of-office messages they had set had been modified to blame Senate Democrats. "Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations," the messages said, according to the complaint. "Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.” Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, the liberal legal group representing the union, in a statement said, "Posting messages without consent to broadcast messages on behalf of a partisan agenda is a blatant violation of First Amendment rights." An email by Reuters to the Education Department's press team generated an automatic reply that mirrored the message the lawsuit cited, similarly blaming "Democrat Senators" for the lapse in appropriations. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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(Adds more detail, background from paragraph 2-5) Oct 3 (Reuters) – Advisers to Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have approached U.S. officials with an offer to build and run a port on the Arabian Sea, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing a plan seen by the newspaper. The plan envisages American investors building and operating a terminal to access Pakistan's critical minerals in the town of Pasni, according to the FT. Pasni is a port town in Gwadar District in the province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. The move comes after Munir, along with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in September. In that meeting, Sharif sought investment from U.S. companies in the agriculture, technology, mining and energy sectors for investment. According to the FT, the offer was floated with some U.S. officials, and was shared with Munir ahead of a meeting with Trump in the White House late last month. The blueprint excludes the use of the port for U.S. military bases, and instead aims to attract development finance for a rail network linking the port to mineral-rich western provinces, the FT report added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The U.S. State Department, White House, and Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Pakistani Army could not immediately be reached. (Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Shri Navaratnam)

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After taking their first loss on the field last week, the Indianapolis Colts absorbed one off the field ahead of a Sunday home game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Indianapolis (3-1) found out Wednesday night that cornerback Xavien Howard, who started the team's first four games, is retiring. Howard was a two-time All-Pro from 2016-23 with Miami, twice leading the league in interceptions. However, he struggled with the Colts in a close win over the Denver Broncos in Week 2 and in a 27-20 road defeat against the Los Angeles Rams last week. Howard permitted five catches to Puka Nacua for 71 yards and four first downs, plus a game-tying touchdown. "I've had a hell of a career and even though it's ending in a unique way, I'm cool with that," Howard said on social media. "Because for once, I'm putting my family first. I'm proud and excited about that decision." With Howard and his 29 career picks now gone for good, the Colts' options to fill the position include Mekhi Blackmon and Johnathan Edwards. Kenny Moore II will sit out his second consecutive game due to an Achilles injury. Blackmon is more likely to draw into the lineup than Edwards, a rookie. Also sitting out for the Colts will be running back Tyler Goodson (groin), wide receiver Alec Pierce (concussion), cornerback Kenny Moore II (achilles) and safety Daniel Scott (knee). Give all that, Indianapolis' best defense could be its potent offense, which ranks fourth in the NFL at 30.8 points per game. Although Daniel Jones threw his first two interceptions of the year last week, he is completing 71.9 percent of his passes and owns a career-high passer rating of 103.3. Top receiver Michael Pittman — 21 receptions, 234 yards, three TDs — was added to the injury report late in the week with a hamstring strain but was fine for Friday's practice. The Colts could see the return of starting guard Matt Goncalves (toe) after he missed the Rams game but was able to practice. Las Vegas (1-3) comes into town after a bitter 25-24 home defeat last week against Chicago. The Raiders led most of the game before the Bears scored with 1:34 left. Las Vegas then had a chance to win it, but Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field-goal attempt was blocked with 33 seconds remaining. It was the third straight defeat for Las Vegas, spoiling a breakout game from rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. He compiled 155 total yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run, one of his three scores on the day. No player in the league has more broken tackles than Jeanty's 15 this year. "He is the type of guy that is downhill and really has a full bag," Indianapolis safety Cam Bynum said of Jeanty. "He's one of those guys that's really good, and his running style is what makes him who he is." With Jeanty finding his best form, the Raiders' next task is to get Geno Smith squared away. The veteran quarterback tossed three interceptions against Chicago, giving him an NFL-high seven through four games. By contrast, Smith threw 15 picks in 17 games last year with the Seattle Seahawks. "He isn't backing away from anything," first-year Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll said. "He'll tell you exactly that he was responsible and he needs to make the play and come through and do that for us." Eric Stokes (knee), the Raiders' best cornerback through four weeks, returned to practice but was limited this week. He left the Chicago game late and has been designated as questionable for Sunday. Also questionable are tight ends Brock Bowers (knee) and Michael Mayer (concussion). Bowers' outlook looks particularly shaky, after he followed a limited participation day on Wednesday with two days of sitting practice out. Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller (ankle) was placed on injured reserve and will miss the next four weeks at minimum after leaving last week's game. The Colts have won eight of the teams' past 11 meetings. –Field Level Media

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CONCORD, N.C.–Recovering from a first-lap crash in "Calamity Corner", Corey Heim rallied to win Friday's EcoSave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, setting a single-season NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series record with his 10th win of the 2025 campaign, breaking the tie with Greg Biffle. Driving a heavily taped No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, Heim took the lead by staying out for an overtime restart while teammate Brent Crews, who had led a race-high 56 laps, pitted for fuel and tires. Heim drove away on the restart and beat runner-up Crews to the finish line by 1.338 seconds, leading the first-ever 1-2-3 finish for TRICON, with rookie Gio Ruggiero coming home third. "It was not easy today — I think it was probably the toughest one of the year so far," said Heim, who secured a spot in the Oct. 31 Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway. "Just shows the resilience of this TRICON team. They fixed it up so good for me after that incident on the first lap — just kind of out of our control. "I thought we were done, honestly. The right front completely folded when it hit the wall over there." In fact, the race was just a few seconds old when three playoff drivers tangled in Turn 1, nicknamed "Calamity Corner" as the frequent scene of accidents at the 2.28-mile, 17-turn circuit. Contact from Grant Enfinger sent second-place starter Layne Riggs spinning in a collision that knocked the No. 11 Toyota of Heim, the pole winner and runaway series leader, into the Turn 1 barrier. All three trucks sustained damage, with Heim suffering a left-rear tire rub that required multiple pit stops to correct. "We were not as good as we were in practice and qualifying after that damage," said the 23-year-old Heim, who earned his first victory at the Roval and the 21st of his career, seventh all-time. "My steering wheel was about 45 degrees to the left, and we came down pit road like six times to try to get it back to at least somewhat where it was." As Heim worked his way back to the front after the accident, Crews dominated, though he short-pitted in both the first and second stages to set up track position after the breaks. In fact, Crews appeared bound for his first victory in the series before another TRICON teammate, Toni Breidinger, stalled in Turn 5 to cause the fourth and final caution, sending the race to overtime. Crews came to pit road from the lead with third-place Connor Zilisch, as Heim stayed on track with Connor Mosack, Riggs and Chandler Smith. Riggs, who had been racing without a sway bar since the early crash, suffered clutch issues on the restart and held up the outside lane. With trucks spinning behind him, Heim opened a gap and maintained it throughout the two- lap extra period. "We had a super-fast truck, as you got to see," Crews said philosophically. "I'm out there leading the race today — I had a blast. Really happy for TRICON today to go 1-2-3, and congrats to the whole 11 team. They did a great job all day as well. "I was happy to see them get back up there, but I definitely didn't want to stay out there (for the overtime)." With Heim advancing to the Championship 4, the other seven playoff drivers left the opening race in the Round of 8 clustered together around the elimination line. Daniel Hemric (11th Friday after starting from the rear) and Tyler Ankrum (ninth) are second and third in the standings, two points above the cutline. Fourth-place finisher Rajah Caruth is fourth in the standings, just one point to the good over Riggs, two clear of defending series champion Ty Majeski and four ahead of Enfinger and Kaden Honeycutt, who won the first and second stages before finishing 14th. Zilisch came home fifth in Friday's race, followed by Josh Bilicki, Enfinger, Majeski, Ankrum and Mosack. Riggs finished 21st to drop below the cutline and was still steamed about the first-lap incident after the race. "We just got wrecked by the 9 (Enfinger)," Riggs said. "I don't really understand what his thought process is. People say you're supposed to take advice from the veterans and learn from them of how to race, and they race the worst out of anybody. "That's twice this year we've gotten wrecked by the 9 truck — at Watkins Glen and here, both road courses, two separate incidents, two blatantly wrong on his part. We drug a sway bar arm off after that contact and just had a terrible handling truck the rest of the day. "At the end, we were just going to try to salvage something, but something in the rear end housing broke, or a clutch started slipping, but I had no power there at the end." NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race — Ecosave 250 Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Concord, North Carolina 1. (1) Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 70. 2. (3) Brent Crews, Toyota, 70. 3. (7) Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 70. 4. (18) Rajah Caruth (P), Chevrolet, 70. 5. (6) Connor Zilisch(i), Chevrolet, 70. 6. (10) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 70. 7. (4) Grant Enfinger (P), Chevrolet, 70. 8. (9) Ty Majeski (P), Ford, 70. 9. (11) Tyler Ankrum (P), Chevrolet, 70. 10. (15) Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 70. 11. (34) Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 70. 12. (12) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 70. 13. (19) Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 70. 14. (5) Kaden Honeycutt (P), Toyota, 70. 15. (31) Will Rodgers(i), Chevrolet, 70. 16. (26) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 70. 17. (17) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 70. 18. (8) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 70. 19. (20) Chandler Smith, Ford, 70. 20. (32) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 70. 21. (2) Layne Riggs (P), Ford, 70. 22. (27) Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 70. 23. (23) Jake Garcia, Ford, 70. 24. (24) Matt Crafton, Ford, 69. 25. (21) Ben Maier, Chevrolet, 69. 26. (25) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, 69. 27. (28) Wesley Slimp, Toyota, 69. 28. (29) Mason Maggio(i), Ford, 69. 29. (33) Tyler Tomassi(i), Ford, 69. 30. (30) Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, Electrical, 63. 31. (14) Tanner Gray, Toyota, Transmission, 55. 32. (13) Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 54. 33. (35) Josh Reaume, Ford, DVP, 52. 34. (36) Carter Fartuch, Ford, Engine, 24. 35. (16) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, Suspension, 20. 36. (22) Ben Rhodes, Ford, Accident, 2. Average Speed of Race Winner: 75.244 mph. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 7 Mins, 16 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.338 Seconds. Caution Flags: 4 for 12 laps. Lead Changes: 8 among 4 drivers. Lap Leaders: B. Crews 1-17; K. Honeycutt (P) 18-21; T. Majeski (P) 22; B. Crews 23-37; C. Heim (P) 38; K. Honeycutt (P) 39-41; B. Crews 42-65; C. Heim (P) 66-70. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Brent Crews 3 times for 56 laps; Kaden Honeycutt (P) 2 times for 7 laps; Corey Heim (P) 2 times for 6 laps; Ty Majeski (P) 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 52,98,18,19,1,7,71,17,77,34 Stage #2 Top Ten: 52,9,71,19,1,18,7,11,42,41 — Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media

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* Grupo Mexico's bid comes after billionaire Chico Pardo's deal to buy 25% * Citi still leaning toward sale to Chico Pardo, IPO * Grupo Mexico open to Chico Pardo retaining his share (Adds Citi reaction in paragraphs 3, 19-20) By Kylie Madry MEXICO CITY, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Mexican mining and transportation giant Grupo Mexico on Friday submitted an offer to purchase Citi's retail unit in the country, known as Banamex, more than two years after it had scrapped previous plans to do so. Grupo Mexico, controlled by German Larrea, one of the nation's wealthiest men, said in a filing that the bid showed its "unwavering confidence" in the country and that such a purchase would once again make Banamex competitive among its peers. Citi said in a statement to Reuters that it had not yet received the offer, but that a previous deal to sell a 25% stake in Banamex to local billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo and list the rest was still its preferred outcome. Under its offer, Grupo Mexico would purchase 25% of Banamex at 0.85x book value, and the remaining 75% at 0.80x book value, it said. Citi paid $12.5 billion for Banamex in 2001. The offer from Grupo Mexico comes a week after Chico Pardo, who chairs airport operator ASUR, tied up a deal for a 25% stake at 0.80x book value, or around $2.3 billion. Analysts speculated at the time that by Citi accepting a deal below book value, it would effectively create a "floor" for a planned initial public offering (IPO) for the rest of the firm. GOVERNMENT TENSIONS PREVIOUSLY TRIPPED UP DEAL Citi had previously sought outright buyers for Banamex, with Grupo Mexico coming the closest to sealing the deal. However, talks dissolved in 2023 after tensions with the administration of then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador led the two sides to abandon an agreement. Lopez Obrador had demanded the firm remain in Mexican hands and that the new owner not be allowed to cut costs through layoffs. Chico Pardo said last week that current President Claudia Sheinbaum had not put such conditions on his purchase. Grupo Mexico said in the filing on Friday that safeguarding Banamex's workforce would be among its priorities. FUTURE OF BANAMEX After the original Grupo Mexico deal fell through, Citi opted to pursue an IPO for Banamex. That was still on the table after Chico Pardo bought in, executives said last week. Grupo Mexico's bid would do away with the need for that. Grupo Mexico said that while it intended to purchase the whole firm, if Chico Pardo wished to maintain his stake, Grupo Mexico's bid would be reduced to 75% of the firm at 0.80x book value. More Mexican investors and pension funds could join in the future, Grupo Mexico said. Citi said the previous plan was still on track, though it added the company was "committed to realizing the full value of Banamex for (its) shareholders." "If an offer is presented by Grupo Mexico, we will of course review it in a responsible manner and consider, among other risk factors, the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals and the certainty of closing a proposed transaction," Citi said. (Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Diane Craft)

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