KUALA LUMPUR: A decision by Malaysia's bourse to bar a key shareholder in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and two other lenders from voting on their planned merger has given minority investors more clout and thrown doubt on the deal's prospects.
Seeking to create Malaysia's biggest bank with a market value of more than $20 billion, the three have proposed a complex deal structure widely seen as aimed at blocking potential objections from Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments - the second-largest shareholder in one of the lenders, RHB Capital Bhd.