Al Khaliji snaps up French bank's UAE assets

Qatar's Al Khaliji said on Monday it agreed to buy the UAE's assets of France's BLC Bank in its first expansion outside its home market.

Khaliji, which raised 600 million riyals ($164.9 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) in April, said last week it was in exclusive talks with BLC over buying its four UAE branches.

The two lenders have concluded negotiations and are waiting for central bank approval, Khaliji said in a statement on the Doha bourse website. It did not give the value for the deal.

Khaliji's stock surged more than 7% on October 22 after it said it was in talks with BLC. It closed on Sunday at 13.10 riyals compared with a 2007 high of 14.30 riyals on October 22.

BLC, formerly a part of Beirut-based BLC Bank, has branches in each of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al-Khaimah and Sharjah.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) bought Lebanon's BLC in 2005 from the Central Bank of Lebanon, which rescued the lender in 2002.

The QIA then spun off BLC's French operations before selling the rest of the lender to Lebanon's Fransabank, according to BLC's website. BLC opened the four UAE branches in 1973. - Reuters

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