Maybank may raise stake in MCB in August: Daily Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Maybank is set to buy another 5 percent of Pakistan's MCB Bank as early as next month, in a deal estimated at $218 million, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Malayan Banking Bhd, Malaysia's leading lender, bought a 15 percent stake in MCB Bank, Pakistan's top lender, for $680 million in May.

That deal included a clause whereby Maybank was obliged to buy up to another 5 percent of MCB Bank shares within one year of the first transaction.

The price for this stake was then agreed at Rs 490 per share, plus holding cost, with the total price not exceeding Rs 510 per share.

"The deal is very much on, the talks have started, and if all goes well, it should materialise sometime in August," said a source close to the transaction.

A spokesman at Maybank declined comment. A spokesman at MCB Bank said any stake purchase by Maybank would be in line with the previous agreement, but he did not give a time frame for the new purchase.

Shares in MCB Bank were up 5 percent at Rs 256.3.

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