Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has signed an MoU and non-disclosure agreement with Ahli United Bank, and have selected HSBC and to advise on a possible merger.
In a statement to Boursa Kuwait, KFH said that HSBC and Suisse were selected to conduct the valuation studies and propose a fair price.
If the two lenders on the share exchange ratio is reached, the next step would be the initiation of due diligence as well as submitting an official request for approval from Central Bank of Kuwait and other related tasks.
Last week KFH announced that it has invited AUB to begin a due diligence process for a potential merger.
If the merger materialises, it would join a number of several recent tie-ups to create bigger and stronger lenders in the MENA region.
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The major shareholders in the two lenders are Kuwait state-owned entities. The Public Institution for Social Security owns 18.59 per cent of Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank, according to data on the Bahrain bourse.
Additionally, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), is the largest shareholder in KFH.
If a merger proceeds, the total assets of the two banks would be $90.57 billion, making it the sixth largest bank in the Gulf, according to Thomson Reuters data.
By Kudakwashe
