Al Khalij Commercial Bank PQSC shares surged Sunday after it agreed with Masraf Al Rayan QSC for a share-swap combination that will create Qatar’s second-largest lender.
The shares climbed as much as 8.7% in Doha, the biggest intraday gain in more than two months. Masraf Al Rayan shares rose 0.8%.
Masraf Al Rayan plans to issue 0.5 securities for every Al Khalij share for the merger. The deal is valued at 8.2 billion riyals ($2.2 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations.
Combining with Al Khalij will see Al Rayan leapfrog its next two largest competitors by giving it $47 billion in assets -- still six times less than that of Qatar National Bank QPSC. Qatar has 2.5 million people being served by about 20 local and international banks, leaving smaller lenders at a disadvantage unless they can find a niche or competitive edge.
The combination will “create a larger and stronger financial institution with a strong financial position and significant liquidity available to support Qatar’s economic growth,” the lenders said Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment