Dubai Islamic Bank board approves merger terms with Noor Bank

New shares will be issued to satisfy terms of Noor Bank acquisition

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Friday 29 November 2019

The board of Dubai Islamic Bank has approved the terms for its merger with Noor Bank.

A share swap values one new share in DIB for every 5.49 Noor Bank shares. The deal will be completed through the issue 651,159,958 new DIB shares.

DIB is the UAE's biggest Islamic lender, with USD 62.6 billion of assets as of September 30, 2019, a 3 percent year-on-year increase. The bank reported a 1 percent year-on-year increase in profits in the three months to September 30 of almost USD 340 million, and profit for the nine-month period grew 10 percent to USD 1.1 billion.

It first announced proposals to acquire Noor Bank in April 2019, and recommended the deal to its shareholders in June.

Noor Bank had assets worth USD 12.6 billion as of September 30, 2019, an 8 percent decline since the start of the year, according to its filed accounts. It declared a 12 percent year-on-year decline in net profit for the three months to September 30 of USD 50.5 million.

Both banks have a common shareholder in the form of Investment Corporation of Dubai, the sovereign fund that owns a 28.37 percent share in Dubai Islamic Bank and 23.9 percent of Noor Bank. The UAE government also owns a 4.42 percent stake in Noor Bank through the Emirates Investment Authority.