Burgan wins approval to acquire Turkish bank
Kuwait, December 8, 2012
Kuwait’s Burgan Bank said it has won approval from Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) on a share purchase agreement with Eurobank EFG, the third largest bank in Greece to acquire leading Turkish lender Eurobank Tekfen.
Burgan, Kuwait's youngest commercial bank with a major presence in Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia, has four majority-owned subsidiaries in the region including Gulf Bank Algeria, Bank of Baghdad, Jordan Kuwait Bank and Tunis International Bank.
The Turkish approval from comes close on the heels of Kuwait Central Bank’s nod for the transaction in October.
With this acquisition, Burgan Bank will get access to the booming Turkish banking market, said a top official.
Commenting on the approval, chairman Majed Essa Al Ajeel said, “We thank both the Central Bank of Kuwait and the BRSA for their continuous support throughout the process, and we are looking forward to a more fruitful start in Turkey."
With this acquisition, Burgan will gain access to the attractive Turkish banking market through an established franchise offering holistic banking services to corporate, SMEs, private banking and retail clients. Our presence in Turkey will further enhance and support Burgan Bank’s regional expansion strategy,” he noted.
“We look forward to receive the Turkish Capital Markets Board approval and close the transaction soon,” added Al-Ajeel.
Earlier in April, Burgan said it had entered into a share purchase agreement with Eurobank EFG, a leading Greek bank more than 300 branches in the country, to acquire a 99.26 per cent stake in Eurobank Tekfen.
Eurobank Tekfen was established in 1989 and enjoys an extensive geographic coverage within Turkey through its network of 60 branches.-TradeArabia News Service
