Takeover of Bank Alfalah complete

The Abu Dhabi Group is now the sole owner of Bank Alfalah in Pakistan having acquired the remaining 30 per cent shares of the bank held by the Pakistan Government, senior officials of the group confirmed here.

"The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) in Pakistan, on the recommendation of the Privatisation Commission has approved the sale of 30 per cent of Alfalah Bank to the Abu Dhabi Group which was the highest bidder. The transaction is now complete," a senior official of the Abu Dhabi Group told Gulf News yesterday.

The Abu Dhabi Group offered the highest bid of Rs27.56 per share against the floor price of Rs26.56 for the remaining shares (22.5 million) making a total of Rs620.1 million.

The Abu Dhabi Group acquired a 70 per cent stake in Bank Alfalah (formerly Habib Credit and Exchange Bank) in 1997 through an open bidding process.

"Of the four bidders, ours was the highest bid and we got the 30 per cent shares," he said. The other bidders were PICIC Commercial Bank, Invest Capital and Securities and Javed Omer Vohra & Co.

Bank Alfalah with total assets of Rs.37.9 billion as of December 31, 2001, expects its total assets to reach Rs52 billion in end-2002.

The bank which had only three branches (all three branches of the former Bank of Credit & Commerce International or BCCI) in 1997 in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi currently has 45 branches in 21 cities across Pakistan.

"Right now the bank has concentrated on the domestic market," said the official noting that it was too early to say whether it would expand overseas.

Arif Habib Securities acted as lead manager for the 30 per cent sale of Bank Alfalah's shares.

Last month, the Abu Dhabi Group with its bidding partner Bestway Holdings of the UK acquired a 51 per cent stake in Pakistan's state-run United Bank Ltd (UBL) for Rs12.35 billion.