European Islamic Investment Bank Plc (“EIIB” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the completion of its IPO.
The Company has raised (conditional on Admission) approximately £75 million (before expenses) through the Issue of 301,125,531 New Ordinary Shares at a price of 25p per share (the Issue Price), of which approximately £60 million was raised through the offer to existing shareholders. The New Ordinary Shares represent approximately 16.5 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company.
On Admission, the Company will have 1,825,562,531 Ordinary Shares in issue. Admission to AIM and the commencement of dealings in the Ordinary Shares are expected to take place today, Wednesday, 17 May 2006. The Company’s AIM ticker will be “EIIB”.
John Weguelin, Managing Director of EIIB, said:
“The IPO is another significant milestone in the continued roll-out of our business plan and we are pleased with the outcome, particularly in the light of the recent difficult markets.
“We will use the proceeds of the IPO to build our business and address the growing demand for Sharia’a compliant investment banking products and services. The global Islamic banking market is already estimated to be controlling approximately $500 billion in total assets and has grown significantly over the past five years.
“We believe that our purely Sharia’a compliant approach, together with our independence and status following Admission as a UK quoted and regulated company, will enable us to become a leading investment bank in the Islamic financial sector, and to bridge the gap between the Islamic and conventional financial markets.”
EIIB, headquartered in London, was established in January 2005 and is the first independent, Sharia’a compliant Islamic investment bank to be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”). The Company received FSA authorisation in March and opened for business on 3 April 2006. In the second quarter of 2005 EIIB completed a private placement which raised approximately £108 million (net of expenses).
EIIB’s business activities will include:
- Treasury and Capital Markets
- Asset Management, including Private Banking
- Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking
- Advisory and Corporate Finance.
EIIB aims to attract a wide customer base including Islamic institutions and high net worth investors, investors in conventional financial markets and international institutions wishing to transact business in the Islamic financial markets.
BNP Paribas acted as financial adviser to EIIB and global coordinator and joint bookrunner to the IPO. Evolution Securities Ltd was joint bookrunner to the IPO and is acting as Nominated Adviser and Broker to EIIB.