Boubyan Bank receives takeover offer from National Bank of Kuwait (By IFN)

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank, which received a formal offer letter from the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) to acquire the remaining shares it does not own in Boubyan, has announced that it will assess the offer and provide a recommendation to its shareholders.

NBK offered to buy the 52.7% stake it does not already own in Boubyan for KWD580.6 million (US$2.07 billion). The offer price is equivalent to 630 Kuwait fils (US$2.25) per share; and is 1.6% higher than Boubyan’s last closing price on the Kuwait Stock Exchange before it received NBK’s offer.

NBK’s offer comes on the back of its plan to strengthen its Islamic presence in the Gulf. Apart from its interest in Boubyan and United Capital Bank, an Islamic commercial bank in Sudan in which it owns 21.67%, NBK, a conventional bank, also offers Islamic products.

In an investor presentation in March this year, the bank highlighted the establishment of an Islamic banking franchise as among four strategies to diversify its business; aiming to build Boubyan’s capabilities and transforming it into a strong player in Kuwait’s growing Islamic banking sector.

“The size and market share development of Boubyan relative to other Islamic banks leaves significant room for repositioning the bank and acquiring market share. Leading international consulting firms have assisted Boubyan in developing a new strategy aiming to differentiate the bank from other players with a clear focus on high net worth individuals, affluent and mid/large companies.

“The bank’s transformation and strategy implementation is led by a highly proficient management team with extensive regional banking experience, with key positions filled by NBK ex-staff,” said NBK. Among those appointments was Adel Abdul Wahab Al Majed, the former deputy chief executive at NBK, who joined Boubyan as its CEO in 2009. He was also appointed as its chairman in March this year.

As at the 31st March this year, NBK’s total assets amounted to KWD14.39 billion (US$51.46 billion). A full acquisition of Boubyan will give it an enlarged asset base of KWD16.01 billion (US$57.20 billion), based on Boubyan’s total assets as at the 31st March.

See: http://redmoney.newsweaver.co.uk/1d2n24kl00xh38rwoni3wx?email=true&a=6&p=25131805&t=21471875