Business

Qatar bank's $6.1 billion Ahli United takeover bid stalls
by Delia Cruceru

International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) said yesterday that the talks with the Ahli United Bank, formed in 2000 through the merge of two banks based in the UK and Bahrain and listed on Bahrain and Kuwait stock exchanges, have stalled. Tamdeen Investment Corporation, which holds a 13 per cent stake in AUB insisted that only an independent party will have access to the the books of Bahrain's biggest lender. "IBQ confirmed that they have been in discussions with certain shareholders of AUB but these discussions have stalled," International Bank of Qatar said in a statement. AUB is worried about IBQ's due diligence process, which they said it might affect its interests if no deal is reached and the direct involvement of IBQ officials in the due diligence process. "Ahli United Bank sees a contradiction in the due diligence process with standard practices and with its interests in particular in case the deal is not concluded," Tamdeen said. AUB shareholders forced IBQ to complete the complex exercise of due diligence in one month, instead of minimum period of three months. BQ, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait offered to buy 55% of Ahli United Bank for $2.25 a share in cash and the remainder of the lender in stock, according to Ahli's second-biggest shareholder, Kuwait's Tamdeen Investment Co, the total value for the takeover being to $6.1 billion.

related story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070805/tbs-uk-ahliunited-takeover-qatar-7318940_1.html

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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posted by Blog TechSource @ 3:34 PM