Standard Chartered shares jump as investors swoop on renewed reports of possible £28.8bn First Abu Dhabi deal
Shares in Standard Chartered jumped around 10 per cent following reports from Bloomberg that First Abu Dhabi Bank was still interested in making an offer for the London-headquartered lender.
According to Bloomberg, figures at First Abu Dhabi Bank were working on a possible takeover “under the code name Silver-Foxtrot” once the cooling-off period required by UK law passes.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that a bid is expected to be in the range of $30bn to $35bn, funded by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and the ruling Al Nahyan family. Standard Chartered’s market cap is around £22bn while First Abu Dhabi is worth nearly twice that.
According to Bloomberg, the First Abu Dhabi Bank has completed due diligence on Standard Chartered.
In January, First Abu Dhabi Bank said it was pulling out of a potential deal for the bank, although Standard Chartered’s share price leapt around 20 per cent at the news that it was a take-over target.
Under UK takeover rules, a further offer cannot be made within six months of the end of the previous bid without the approval of the bank’s board, or, in the absence of a rival bidder.
Although it is headquartered in London, Standard Chartered operates in 59 markets across the world, with a focus on Asia. Its sprawling footprint makes it both an attractive target, due to its access to fast growing markets, but would add complexity to any potential deal.
Speaking at Davos a few weeks ago, CEO Bill Winters said the bank was not interested in a deal. “This is not something we’ve either engaged with, or been interested in,” he said.
“The thing with Standard Chartered is we are doing very well all by ourselves. Everything is on track for us.”
Standard Chartered declined to comment.