Oman's BankMuscat is acquiring a majority stake in Saudi Pak Commercial Bank (Sapico) in Pakistan. It is making the acquisition through a consortium of institutions, comprising Sinthos Captial, IFC, Washington and Nomura International.
The group has signed a share purchase agreement with SAPICO to buy a 68% stake in the bank. BankMuscat's total stake will be 35%.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sinthos Capital will manage the bank. Sinthos is founded by Shaukat Tarin and Sadeq Sayeed. Tarin has over 32 years of banking experience with Citi, Habib Bank and Union Bank. He is particularly well known for turning around Union Bank, before it was sold to Standard Chartered, and absorbed into their Pakistan operations. Sayeed has 25 years of experience working in private equity and asset management.
SAPICO was established in 2001, and has total assets of US$975mn. The transaction is still pending regulatory approvals from Oman and from the State Bank of Pakistan.
Commenting on the acquisition, chairman of BankMuscat, Sheikh AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili says: "Pakistan and Oman have historically had longstanding economic and social ties. Our entry into the country is therefore both strategically and commercially important to us.
“We will be pleased to be of service to the local business community in Pakistan and hope this move will further strengthen our ties with members of the community who are well settled across the GCC region.”
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