MCB Bank Ltd. (MCB.KA) has agreed to buy Royal Bank of Scotland
Group PLC's (RBS) operations in Pakistan for PKR7.2 billion (US$87
million), people familiar with the situation said Monday.
This came after MCB Bank, a domestic privately-owned Pakistan
bank, said earlier Monday its board has approved a proposal to
acquire the assets.
It also comes a week after Australia & New Zealand Banking
Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) announced it was buying the bulk of RBS's Asian
banking operations for US$550 million leaving just the Scottish
bank's Indian, Chinese and Malaysian assets still on the sale
block.
The price MCB is paying translates to 0.73 times Pakistan's book
value of about PKR9.9 billion at the end of March, one person
said.
MCB will finance the acquisition with its own internal capital,
another person said, adding the official announcement of the deal
is due within 24 hours.
Royal Bank of Scotland currently operates 79 branches in
Pakistan and has a loan book of PKR68 billion, deposits of PKR79
billion and assets of PKR108 billion.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and KASB Bank advised MCB on the
transaction.
-By Amy Or, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2832 2335;
amy.or@dowjones.com