Emirates NBD plans share capital hike ahead of possible acquisition

DUBAI: Emirates NBD plans to raise its share capital by up to 7.35 billion dirhams through the issuance of new shares, as Dubai’s largest lender prepares to bid for Turkey’s Denizbank.

The bank said in January it had started initial strategic talks with S ber bank about a possible purchase of the Russian lender’ s stake in Turkey’ s Denizbank.

The share hike was expected to ensure the lender’s common equity tier one ratio did not drop below the regulated 11 per cent threshold with the acquisition, said Chiradeep Ghosh, banking analyst at SICO Bahrain.

Plans for the move helped send Emirates NBD’s stock surging 12.5 per cent in early trading on Sunday. — Reuters