Kuwait Finance House has agreed to postpone finalising its acquisition of Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank until December due to the coronavirus outbreak.
KFH obtained permission from the Central Bank of Bahrain to postpone the process “given the unprecedented circumstances relating to the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said in a filing to the Kuwaiti bourse.
Its shareholders approved what would be the Gulf’s first major cross-border bank merger in recent years.
“The postponement came under the guidance of the regulatory authorities in the two countries, to consider the suitability of the two banks’ conditions to this big step, after the coronavirus crisis and its implications,” a source close to the deal said.
The new agenda and associated documentation for the implementation of the acquisition offer will be announced in due course as per the CBB requirements.
Last month, KFH requested an exemption from the CBB concerning the postponement of the offer process. Under the aforementioned deal, KFH will hold the total issued share capital of AUB.
Source Reuters