In a joint press release issued on Thursday, and following the announcement on 30 June 2020 of a potential merger (the "Merger"), Masraf Al Rayan ("Al Rayan") and Al Khalij Commercial Bank ("Al Khaliji") have announced that they have entered into a merger agreement on Jan. 7, 2021 (the "Merger Agreement"). Following the Merger, Al Khaliji business will be absorbed into the Al Rayan business, and Al Rayan will be the remaining legal entity, which will continue to operate in accordance with Islamic Sharia's principles.

Al Rayan will issue 0.50 Al Rayan shares for every Al Khaliji share, corresponding to a total of 1,800 million new shares issued to Al Khaliji shareholders. The exchange ratio implies a premium to Al Khaliji shareholders of 21.4% versus the share price before the board meeting announcement to discuss the merger (closing share price as of Jan.5, 2021) and 66.7% versus the share price before the announcement of the initial negotiations regarding a potential merger (closing share price as of June 30, 2020).

al khaliji and Masraf Al Rayan have entered into a merger agreement to create a leading Shari’ah-compliant regional bank

For more details, please visit https://t.co/wn7MIdesJF#alkhaliji #qatar #قطر #الخليجي

— al khaliji (@khalijibank) January 7, 2021

The Merger Agreement is conditional on, amongst other things, obtaining regulatory approvals and upon the requisite resolutions being passed by the shareholders of Al Rayan and Al Khaliji. Both entities will continue to operate independently until the effective date of the Merger.

H.E. Ali Bin Ahmad Al Kuwari will become Chairman and H.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani will become Vice Chairman of the board of the merged entity. The Executive Committee of the board will be chaired by H.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani.

The Merger, which has the support of the board of directors of Al Rayan and Al Khaliji, will once effected, create a larger and stronger financial institution with a strong financial position and significant liquidity available to support Qatar's economic growth and to finance development initiatives in line with the Qatar Vision 2030. Furthermore, it will create one of the largest Sharia's- compliant banks in the State of Qatar and in the Middle East with combined assets worth around QR 172 billion (US$ 47 billion) as of Sep. 30, 2020.

The Merger is also expected to contribute positively to the economic development in the State of Qatar by supporting corporate businesses and small and medium-sized entities, and will also create a strategic partner for the public sector. Additionally, the Merger will combine the key strengths of the two banks in the areas of retail and private banking services, corporate and government institutions, capital markets, and wealth and asset management, giving the combined business both an excellent proposition for customers and stability through diversification for shareholders.

The combined entity will have an enhanced presence in Qatar and selected international presence, which will help achieve market-leading cost efficiency, increase future growth potential due to an increase in the capital base, and have considerable synergy potential that could accelerate value creation for shareholders.

The Merger will create significant scope for achieving cost efficiencies in the coming years and is expected to unlock cost synergies in the region of 15% of the combined 9M20 annualized cost base after integration is completed, driven by increased scale and annual efficiency gains. There is also the potential for revenue synergies between the two banks.

The management teams of both banks will shortly be setting up a committee to develop a detailed integration plan and will use appropriate resources to execute upon the identified and desired revenue and cost synergies, which will provide added.

value to shareholders and customers of the two banks and the national economy.

The press release noted that J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to Al Rayan and Al Khaliji in their role as members of the steering committee in connection with the Merger. K&L Gates LLP and KPMG are acting as legal and transaction advisors to Al Rayan, respectively. Clifford Chance LLP (in conjunction with Sultan Al-Abdulla & Partners) and EY are acting as the legal and transaction advisors to Al Khaliji, respectively. KPMG has delivered a fairness opinion for the benefit of the Al Rayan Board. Barclays has delivered a fairness opinion for the benefit of the Al Khaliji Board.

On this occasion, HE Chairman of Al Rayan Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, stated: "This is a landmark transaction that will contribute to the State of Qatar's economic growth, vision and ambitions and is a testament to our commitment to creating a more robust Qatari banking system. The combined entity will create an even stronger institution that will aim to create value for our customers and shareholders,".

In turn, H.E. Chairman of Al Khaliji Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal bin Thani Al-Thani said: "The combination of both banks will create increased scale, capacity, and efficiency to allow us to support our diverse customer base and drive the enhancement of our product offering across the board. We are confident that this transaction will contribute to the development of the economy as a whole."

Source: QNA

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Leena Chung

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