National Bank of Bahrain’s (NBB) offer to acquire up to 100 per cent of the issued and paid up ordinary shares of the Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has been successful, the bank said.

 

Announcing the results of the offer, it said acceptances were received in respect of 529,424,282 ordinary shares of BisB which, on completion of settlement, will result in NBB owning a controlling stake of 78.8% of BisB, up from its 29.06 % pre-transaction stake. 93.55% of the acceptances were from institutional shareholders of BisB and the remaining 6.45% were from individual shareholders. 94.95% of all acceptances opted for the cash offer of BHD 0.117 per BisB share, while the remaining 5.05% opted to swap their BisB shares with newly issued shares of NBB at a share exchange ratio of 0.167 NBB shares per BisB share.

 

The offer, which initially opened on December 18, 2019,  was launched by NBB as part of its efforts to develop further its Islamic banking activities and to offer to its client base a full range of banking services both conventional and Islamic.

 

The transaction is expected to strengthen both the NBB and BisB brands, which will continue to operate as two independent banks, in the local and regional markets. It is also expected to result in asset, revenue, cost, operational and other synergies that are expected to enhance returns. 

 

Speaking of this transaction, Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed, Chairman of NBB, said: ‘NBB has always been keen on diversifying its offering portfolio and developing its capabilities to capture business opportunities locally and regionally. This decision was a result of our strategic vision for the business and reinforcing our group’s presence in the Islamic Banking market. BisB has played a pivotal role in the development of the Islamic Banking sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain and following continuous screening opportunities we chose what we believe would strengthen our position in the industry. Increasing our shareholding in BisB will allow us to become more effective in certain markets, especially where Sharia-compliant businesses play a vital role in.” 

 

Jean-Christophe Durand, CEO of NBB, said: “We are very pleased with the success of our offer. It gives us significant control of BisB and will allow us to implement our strategic vision for a more integrated banking group. We expect the acquisition of BisB to generate significant synergies, improved efficiencies and contribute to profitability. While the two banks will remain independent, I look forward to working with the teams of both banks on the successful implementation of synergies in full respect of the culture of the two institutions.”

 

Settlement of the offer is expected to take place on January 22. Participating BisB shareholders who opted for the cash offer shall be paid either by wire transfer to the account designated on their acceptance forms or by cheque which will be available for collection from January 22 from NBB’s head office.  Shareholders of BisB accepting the share exchange offer can collect their NBB share exchange allotment notices from the offices of Bahrain Clear from January 22, the statement said. 

 

BisB will continue to operate under its normal course of business and maintain its operations as a subsidiary of NBB. BisB will continue to be listed on Bahrain Bourse subject to any compulsory acquisition and delisting regulations which may apply. BisB will recommence trading on January 23. 

All BisB shareholders who did not participate in the offer will remain as shareholders of BisB with their shareholding unchanged as a result of the offer, it added. – TradeArabia News Service