Emirates NBD has agreed to buy Turkish lender Denizbank for 14.6 billion liras ($3.19 billion) from Russia's Sberbank, its biggest ever acquisition. Emirates NBD said in January it had started initial strategic talks with Sberbank about a possible purchase of the Russian lender's stake in Denizbank, the fifth largest private bank in Turkey.
The deal is taking place amid Turkey's recent strained relations with the Gulf states since Ankara stood by Qatar after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and others accused Doha of supporting terrorism, a charge it denies.
The deal will help Emirates NBD establish itself as a leading bank in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, vice chairman of Emirates NBD in a statement.
The Dubai-based lender will also achieve meaningful diversification of its operations, both in new countries and in a broad range of business segments, he said. The transaction is expected to be accretive to shareholders in the first year, said Emirates NBD Chief Executive Officer Shayne Nelson. The closing of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals in Turkey, Russia, the UAE and other relevant jurisdictions, where Denizbank operates.
Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest lender, will pay interest on the consideration for the period between October 31, 2017 and the transaction's closing date, expected later in the year, the two banks said in a joint statement. Denizbank has assets of 169.4 billion liras and operates 751 branches including 43 outside Turkey, while Emirates NBD banks in the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and has representative offices in China and Indonesia.
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