Ahli United deal called off

International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) has called off talks to buy a majority stake in Bahrain's Ahli United Bank, a Kuwaiti newspaper said on Tuesday.

IBQ has not reached agreement about due diligence on Bahrain's biggest bank by market value and an official announcement would be made on the Kuwait stock exchange on Tuesday or Wednesday, Al-Wasat daily reported.

The paper said not say how it got the information.

International Bank, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait, said on Sunday talks to buy a stake in Ahli United had stalled as Ahli investors were insisting that an independent party and not the Qatari firm have access to the bank's books.

International Bank was offering to buy 55% of Ahli for $2.25 per share in cash and the remainder of the lender in stock, according to Ahli's second-biggest shareholder, Kuwait's Tamdeen Investment.

The offer valued the takeover at as much as $6.1 billion, which would be the biggest Gulf Arab cross-border transaction.

Tamdeen said on Saturday Ahli had reservations about opening its books to International Bank in case the deal fell through.

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