Bahrain-based First Leasing Bank (FLB) said its recent merger with top Islamic retail lender Ithmaar Bank will give former FLB shareholders immediate access to liquidity.

 

Welcoming the merger, FLB chairman Khalid Kanoo said the process of issuing Ithmaar shares to former FLB shareholders had started and was expected to be completed shortly.

 

His statement follows a day after Ithmaar Bank chief executive Mohammed Bucheerei, announced that the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and Industry and Commerce Ministry had given final approval on the merger and that the three-month and the 60-day notice periods required by the CBB and the ministry respectively had been completed,  reported our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

 

Ithmaar Bank and FLB shareholders had earlier approved the merger during separate extraordinary general meetings that were held on October 21 last year.

 

The merger increased Ithmaar's issued and paid-up capital by $56.7 million to $758 million after the bank issued 226.7 shares to all FLB shareholders, except those held by and on behalf of Ithmaar Bank, at a nominal value of 25 cents per share.

 

The Ithmaar Bank-First Leasing Bank merger involved a swap of four Ithmaar Bank shares for each FLB share.

 

"I am pleased to announce that the merger is now complete and that the process of merging the registrar of FLB shareholders to the registrar of Ithmaar shareholders is underway," said Kanoo.

 

"This translates to access to liquidity for former FLB shareholders who will hold tradable Ithmaar shares instead," he stated.

 

"Following the successful merger with Ithmaar, the technical and logistical considerations are now being implemented," it added.-TradeArabia News Service