Kuwait Finance House Further Delays Proposed Acquisition of Ahli United Bank Due to COVID-19

Shariah-compliant Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced a further extension to the suspension period pertaining to its acquisition of Ahli United Bank (AUB), citing the Board’s decision to assign an advisor to reassess the feasibility and time frame of the deal, as well as to postpone the start of this reassessment. This announcement was made by KFH on the 30th of December 2020.

KFH had made public its offer to acquire AUB in September 2019, in a proposed all-share deal worth USD 9.2 billion. Media reports state that the deal would result in a combined entity with over USD 100 billion in total assets.

However, in May 2020, the Central Bank of Kuwait passed a resolution requesting KFH to conduct a ‘comprehensive reassessment’ of its acquisition plans,...