Sico acquires majority stake in Bank Muscat’s investment banking arm in Saudi Arabia

Sico acquires majority stake in Bank Muscat’s investment banking arm in Saudi Arabia

Sico, a Bahrain-based financial services firm, acquired a majority stake in Muscat Capital, the Saudi Arabia-based investment banking unit of Bank Muscat.

The 5.5 million Bahraini dinar ($14.62m) deal was carried out through a share swap, with 38.56 million Sico Treasury shares swapped for 4.36 million shares out of Muscat Capital's 6 million outstanding shares, Sico said in a statement on Monday.

The Bahrain-based company now owns 72.2 per cent of Muscat Capital while Bank Muscat, one of the biggest financial institutions in Oman, controls a 9 per cent stake in Sico, which offers investment banking, brokerage and market-making services to its clients in