IslamicFinance.de

BIMB Holdings Bhd is likely to conclude the purchase of the 18.5% stake held by Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd by the end of the month. BIMB owns 51% of Bank Islam, while the remaining 30.5% stake is held by Dubai Financial Group (DFG). LTH, meanwhile, is the ultimate holding company of both BIMB and Bank Islam. Apart from its direct interest in Bank Islam, the pilgrim fund also owns a 51.5% stake in BIMB. There were reportedly no problems in the talks between BIMB and LTH, with pricing done at arm’s length on market benchmarks and in the best interest of the shareholders. The two block of shares are likely to be valued between 1.6 times and 1.8 times price-to-book value. If both talks with DFG and LTH were successful, then BIMB would fully own Bank Islam. An announcement on both stake sales is expectyed to be made by end-July.