Faysal Bank buys majority stake in RBS Pakistan

Faysal Bank Limited has bought a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland Group's Pakistan unit for 41 million euros.

KARACHI: Faysal Bank Limited has bought a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group's Pakistan unit for 41 million euros.

According to an announcement at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Wednesday (today), the purchase gives Faysal Bank a 99.37 per cent stake in RBS Pakistan Ltd.

The transaction values RBS Pakistan stands at Rs2.5 a share.

Bloomberg data said that i's a 77 per cent discount to yesterday's closing price.

This was RBS's second attempt to sell a stake in its local unit after MCB Bank Limited canceled a proposed takeover following a dispute over depositing shares as security. MCB had agreed in August to acquire 99.4 per cent of RBS Pakistan for about 87 million dollars.

The current purchase would add 79 branches to Faysal Bank's network of 133 outlets.