New regional Islamic financial services group

The International Investor today announced that its recent share offering was oversubscribed; that the assets-merger deal with Dallah Albaraka Group has been concluded; and that the new group will be known as Albaraka & The International Investor.

TII confirmed that its recent share offering of 330 million ordinary shares has been oversubscribed. The resulting increase in TII's share capital will be used to partially finance the assets-merger deal with Dallah Albaraka Group (DBG).

TII also announced that, following the successful outcome of negotiations with Dallah Albaraka Group (DBG), the final contract of the deal to combine DBG's assets in nine banking subsidiaries with TII, has been signed and sealed.

This groundbreaking US$ 300-plus million deal creates one of the world's largest Islamic financial groups, with total assets in excess of US$ 3 billion. The new group will be the first Islamic financial institution to offer the full range of retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking services through a network spanning the Middle East and Africa.

The new group will be known as Albaraka & The International Investor, reflecting the union of the two leading brands in Islamic finance. The name also highlights the unique combination of retail and wholesale banking services provided by this leading new regional Islamic financial services group.

Mr Adnan Al Bahar, chairman and managing director of TII, said:
"We were very pleased with the level of response to the private placement, which illustrates strong investor endorsement of our vision and strategy for the new group. We are equally pleased with the speed with which negotiations have been completed. To finalise a deal of this size and complexity in less than five months would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication from all members of the Dallah Albaraka and TII project teams.

It also underlines the commitment of Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Mr Abdallah Saleh Kamel, and myself to work together to achieve our dream of creating the first pan-regional and full-service Islamic financial services network. Our new name reflects the joint achievement of our dream, and our unique combined banking offering. This is a major milestone, for the clients, shareholders, business partners and staff of both companies, and for Islamic finance as a whole.”

Further details of the placement and final deal structure will be announced later by TII, following initial approval by the Board of Directors. Certain aspects of the deal are subject to final approval by shareholders as well as by the relevant regulatory authorities.

The new branding for Albaraka & The International Investor will be unveiled at the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2001) in Bahrain on Saturday 10 November. Sheikh Saleh Kamel, chairman elect, and Adnan Al Bahar, vice chairman and chief executive elect, will both be speaking at this major annual conference.