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(Alliance News) – Abu Dhabi’s first bank, PJSC, is pushing ahead with a $35 billion bid for Standard Chartered, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Standard Chartered was the best performing FTSE 100 stock on Thursday morning, up 9.4% to 753.70p.
FAB’s proposed takeover of the London-based bank remains on track, Bloomberg said, after a move to shelve an earlier takeover plan “has not deterred its ambitions to become a global financial powerhouse.”
It added that FAB was worth around twice that of Standard Chartered and was considering an all-cash bid of $30 billion to $35 billion.
Standard Chartered, which has a market capitalization of around $24 million and FAB’s $43 billion, has been boosted by the recent drop in the pound, trading at just 0.56 times book value, according to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, FAB officials are reportedly working on a secret bid, code-named Silver-Foxtrot, once the cooling-off period required by UK takeover rules ends. Wall Street veteran Ken Moelis is working closely with FAB executives, key members of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family and some of the emirate’s sovereign funds on a possible deal, they added.
The source said FAB had recently completed due diligence on Standard Chartered and asked not to be identified as “the matter is private,” Bloomberg said, adding that any deal would depend on market conditions and the continuation of Standard Chartered shares. Performance.
Any takeover would be financed by backers including Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Co and the emirate’s ruling Al Nahyan family, Bloomberg sources said.
Bloomberg noted that FAB Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a powerful royal, is leading the political and economic emirate of Abu Dhabi. goals play a more important role. Abu Dhabi is one of the emirates within the United Arab Emirates.
“After a period of rising crude prices, Abu Dhabi is keen to use its oil windfall to revamp the city’s financial sector, which has lagged behind many sectors such as energy, tourism and logistics,” said Bloomberg reporter Ambereen Choudhury. Other key industries.” -Henrik Foerster and Dinesh Nair.
“Such an attempt would go beyond moves by other wealthy Gulf states to take minority stakes in companies such as Barclays and Credit Suisse.”
Mark Williams, a professor at Boston University and a former US Federal Reserve Bank examiner, added: “The FAB and the royal family are simply responding to global financial trends and inflation in the Middle East.
“The state’s goal of acquiring a reputable multinational bank is also linked to a desire to gain greater legitimacy in the global financial community while strengthening controls over the storage and movement of funds.”
Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters recently told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January that it was “very logical” for a Middle Eastern bank to be interested in buying a European financial institution given its relatively low valuation.
However, Winters added that he sees a deal with FAB as unlikely.
“It’s not something we’re involved in or interested in,” Winters said in January. “The thing about Standard Chartered is we’re doing pretty well ourselves. Everything is on track for us.”
Union News reporter Greg Rosenvinge
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