The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has announced that it is still in discussions with BisB for a potential offer for the Shari’ah-compliant lender’s issued shares, adding that its continues to undertake the financial and legal due diligence as the national bank seeks to expand its reach into the Islamic banking market.
In a bourse filing, NBB stated that it is still conducting discussions with BisB in relation to potentially making a voluntary takeover for the issued shares, subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory, board and shareholder approvals.
The national bank’s statement follows BisB’s bourse announcement that it has not received any formal voluntary takeover offer for its issued shares.
Jean-Christophe Durand, the NBB Chief Executive Officer, said that the bank plans to increase its presence in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and is looking to double the size of its debt capital market and advisory business.
Currently, NBB holds a 29.06 per cent stake in BisB and last year said the lender said that it had started talks with Islamic Development Bank to acquire its 14.42 per cent stake in Bahrain Islamic.
Source Islamic Business&Finance