The Banking Executive Magazine - April 2021

UAE's FAB UAE's FAB STARTS SHARE TRANSFER FOR ACQUISITION OF BANK AUDI'S EGYPTIAN UNIT First Abu Dhabi Bank said it has ini- tiated the share transfer related to the acquisition of 100 percent of the share capital of Bank Audi sae, the Egyptian unit of Lebanon-based Bank Audi SAL. “Once the share transfer is complete, FAB will begin integrating the assets and operations of Bank Audi sae (Egypt) and FAB Egypt, with the inte- gration process expected to be fi- nalised in 2022,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. The UAE-based lender announced early this year that it had secured a deal to take over the entire share capital of the Egyptian unit. The deal is expected to make FAB one of Egypt’s largest foreign banks by assets with pro-forma total assets of more than 130 billion Egyptian pounds ($8.5 billion) as of December 31, 2020. “This acquisition represents an im- portant strategic milestone for FAB’s international ambition, accelerating FAB Group’s expansion in a high-po- tential market,” said Hana Al Rosta- mani, group chief executive officer of FAB. First Abu Dhabi Bank and UBS AG in London acted as financial advisers for FAB on the transaction, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy served as legal advisers. EFG Hermes was appointed sole fi- nancial adviser for Bank Audi, while Dechert LLP and Zulficar and Part- ners provided legal advice. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 52 ISSUE 148 APRIL 2021