TII announces three-fold increase in capital

The International Investor (TII) announced today, 11 December 2001, that as a result of the recent successful share offering, TII's capital had been increased from KD 17.68 million (US$ 58 million) to KD 50.68 million (US$ 165 million), and that there had been a significant change in the shareholding structure of the Company.

This announcement follows a recent meeting of the TII Board of Directors, at which the subscription applications were reviewed, and the final share allocation was approved. Total TII shares now number just under 507 million, with some 39 per cent which will be held by Sheikh Saleh Kamel and Dallah Albaraka Holding Company EC. Existing TII shareholders account for 35 per cent, with new shareholders holding the remaining 26 per cent. New investors include Kuwaiti, Saudi, and Bahraini individuals and institutions, about which further details will be announced later.

TII also announced that the composition of the new Board of Directors would be determined by a General Assembly of shareholders, to be held shortly.The increase in TII's capital will be used to partially finance the assets-merger deal with Dallah Albaraka Group (DBG), by which DBG's assets in nine banking subsidiaries are being merged with TII.

This groundbreaking US$ 300-plus million deal creates one of the world's largest Islamic financial services groups, with total assets in excess of US$ 3 billion. The new entity, which will initially be known as Albaraka & The International Investor, will be the first Islamic financial institution to offer the full range of retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking services, through a network spanning 12 countries, across the Middle East and Africa.

TII is now working closely with McKinsey & Company - the world's leading strategy and professional services consultancy - on post-merger activities. A dedicated joint task force has been formed to spearhead the integration and value creation project. This will focus initially on revenue performance, cost reduction, market competitiveness, complementary skills and capabilities, product diversity, and geographic focus.The project will also include corporate strategy, corporate governance, financial control, organisational structure, IT and operations, and corporate communications.