DUBAI: Oman’s Bank Dhofar has approached smaller peer Bank Sohar with a view to merging to create Oman’s second-largest bank, Dhofar said yesterday, sending shares in both banks higher.
Bank Sohar could not immediately be reached for comment. Bank Dhofar said in its bourse filing that the deal would be dependent on Sohar being interested, as well as on both sets of shareholders and sector regulators agreeing.
The new entity would have total assets worth 4.13bn rials ($10.73bn), according to first-quarter financial statements, and a market capitalisation of around $1.76bn. Both figures would still put it significantly behind Oman’s largest lender, Bank Muscat, which has total assets and market value of 8.23bn rials and $3.34bn.
Currently, Bank Dhofar and Bank Sohar are the fourth and fifth-largest banks by total assets and second and seventh-largest by market value respectively.
News of the merger sent shares in Bank Sohar as much as 3.4 percent higher in early trading on the Oman bourse, before retreating to a gain of 2 percent at 0725 GMT. Bank Dhofar shares were 1.6 percent up in limited trading.
Joice Mathew, head of research at United Securities, said the tie-up would be positive for both lenders.
Morocco firm may buy stake in Maroc deal
RABAT: Morocco’s state investment vehicle Caisse de Depot et de Gestion (CDG) may team up with Dubai-based Etisalat in the latter’s planned purchase of a majority stake in Maroc Telecom, CDG’s chief executive said yesterday.
French group Vivendi wants to sell its 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom, the kingdom’s biggest mobile and fixed communications provider, but Morocco wants Etisalat to take on a local partner as a condition of backing its bid.
CDG, the government’s financial arm which manages the state’s pension funds, cannot take more than 10 pct in Maroc Telecom as it already controls 30 pct of the second-largest operator Meditel along with France Telecom and Morocco’s FinanceCom.
“The law allows us to take up to 10 pct of Maroc Telecom, which it is already a lot for us,” said CDG chief Anas Alami.
A source familiar with the matter said CDG would go for 5 or 6 pct of Maroc Telecom, although Alami said this had not been decided yet and talks were still underway. “It is (too) early to confirm that,” he said.
Reuters
