Oman’s Bank Dhofar, Omnivest submit competing bids for Ahli Bank

Oman’s Bank Dhofar, Omnivest submit competing bids for Ahli Bank

Oman’s Ahli Bank has received a revised offer from Bank Dhofar just a day after a consortium led by Oman International Development and Investment Company (Omnivest) said it plans to bid for the lender. Ahli Bank’s board of directors Bank Dhofar’s offer for a potential merger earlier in April without providing a reason for the decision. Bank Dhofar, in its revised offer, said a potential merger with Ahli Bank would provide a ‘compelling opportunity’ for shareholders, without providing further details. “Further to our communication on April 10, 2023 announcing the submission of a non-binding offer to the board of Ahli Bank and having considered the board of directors’ response, Bank Dhofar has resolved to submit a revised non-binding offer,” the lender said in a bourse filing. Meanwhile, the revised bid from Bank Dhofar comes a day after Omnivest said it would lead a consortium that will make an offer for the entire issued share capital of Ahli Bank. The offer will be made by entities separately controlled by Omnivest and Arab Bank. “The consortium will make a cash offer of 185 baizas (base offer per share),” Omnivest said in a statement, which values Ahli Bank around OMR360.7m. This base offer