Shareholders of the Gulf Hotels Group and the Bahrain Tourism Company (BTC), which owns the kingdom's Crowne Plaza and the Bahrain Conference Centre, have approved a proposal for a BD35 million ($92.2 million) merger deal.

Separate extraordinary general meetings called by the boards of both the companies saw approval of GHG's share swap offer of one GHG share for 2.261 BTC shares.

The meeting also saw the approval for an increase in the group’s authorised and paid up capital as well as issuance of new shares that will be used in the share swap with BTC shareholders.

Farouk Almoayyed, chairman of GHG, said: “We would like to thank the shareholders of Bahrain Tourism Company for their trust and confidence in the Gulf Hotels Group. Acceptance of our share swap offer constitutes a significant development in the ongoing strategic growth and diversification of the group’s activities."

Aqeel Raees, GHG chief executive officer and director, said: “The success of the offer means that GHG and BTC can jointly capitalise on operational synergies, and maximise economies of scale in all areas. This will enable us to compete more strongly with the growing number of hotel properties in Bahrain’s extremely competitive hospitality sector."

GHG Issue Advisor was Securities & Investment Company (SICO), whose Chief Executive Ms. Najla Al Shirawi said that GHG's offer achieved a BTC-shareholder approval vote of over 88 per cent.

The share swap was managed in full compliance with the Takeovers, Mergers & Acquisition Module (TMA) of Rule Book Volume 6 of the Central Bank of Bahrain, and with regulatory requirements of the Bahrain Bourse, she added. - TradeArabia News Service