CIMB: Merger talks with RHB, MBSB still on table
Published on: Wednesday, October 01, 2014
PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group's acting chief executive Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said merger discussions with RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) are still progressing."Negotiations are still on the table, the structure has yet to be finalised but we definitely have the mega Islamic bank in mind," he said.Tengku Zafrul said the discussions are now at the board level, but does not expect an announcement before Oct 8.
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"Before it can go to the shareholders, the three boards have to agree first."At the end, we want to ensure the merger investment is viable for ourstakeholders," he told reporters after officiating the bank's collaboration with Tesco Stores Sdn Bhd on home delivery payment here Tuesday.On the funding for the proposed merger, he said all structures will be looked into but it could also be a pure "share merger", like what the former CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak has hinted previously.On market talks that the Abu Dhabi government has formally reached out to the Malaysian government expressing its concern about the Employees Provident Fund's (EPF) right to vote on the three-way merger deal, Tengku Zafrul said he is not privy to the matter.
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"For us at the bank level, that is not something that we like to engage on."We are not privy to the discussions at that (government-to-government) level," he said.
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CIMB Group, RHB Capital and MBSB on July 10 announced that they had received the approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to commence discussions with the aim of merging the businesses of both RHB and CIMB as well as creating an enlarged Islamic Banking franchise with MBSB.The three parties have entered into a 90-day exclusivity agreement to negotiate and finalise pricing, structure and other relevant terms and conditions for a proposed merger of the three entities and the creation of a mega Islamic bank, with the discussion period expected to end on Oct 8.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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