Yousef Hussain Kamal – Chairman of Qatar National Bank (QNB) announced the signing of a Share Purchase Agreement to buy the London-based Ansbacher Holding Limited, a subsidiary of FirstRand International Limited, one of The Republic of South Africa’s major financial institutions.
According to Kamal, this acquisition "will open new horizons for QNB through the utilisation of Ansbacher expertise and specialised product offering in Investment and Fund Management, which is undergoing an increased demand in the local and regional markets."
On his part, Mr. Saeed Bin Abdullah Al Misnad – Chief Executive of QNB announced that negotiations with FirstRand to acquire Ansbacher have been undergoing for some time during which a comprehensive review of Ansbacher operations was conducted. Following this review, management obtained Board consent to proceed with the acquisition.
Al Misnad added that the agreement to acquire Ansbacher is dependent on obtaining formal approval from all concerned regulatory authorities.
In reply to a question on Ansbaher’s activities, Al Misnad added that total assets of the company approaches £1 billion, with strong global presence supported by a highly experienced and professional team comprising 355 employees.
Ansbacher’s activities consist of four major areas including Banking Services in the UK, the Cayman and Channel islands with a particularly strong presence in the areas of real estate, property development and specialised lending. The second area comprises Fiduciary Services, with assets under management approximating £2.6 billion for a large client base in various countries in Europe and the Middle East. The third area consists of Investment Services, for which a major expansion of activities is planned, while Fund Management dominates the fourth area, with assets under management of approximately £1 billion. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
