Auction for 25% RBH stake to move forward - report
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) is reportedly set to move forward with its 25% stake sale in RHB Bank, despite news that two rival banks would launch acquisition bids for Malaysia’s fifth-largest lender. ADCB’s auction process is expected to attract interest from global private firms as well as other corporate banking players.
Citing sources close to the process, Reuters reported that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is likely to face off against a private equity consortium comprising Carlyle Group and TPG Capital for the stake, valued at approximately $1.6 billion. ADCB is said to have hired Goldman Sachs and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to manage the auction.
Last week Malaysia's top two banks, Maybank and CIMB, received regulatory approval to launch their own bids to fully acquire RHB. If Maybank wins the auction, which is set to garner up to $6.65 billion, it will top Singapore's DBS to become Southeast Asia's largest bank.
According to reports, overseas firms are only allowed to own up to 30% of Malaysian banks unless granted special regulatory approval.
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