SINGAPORE: Australia’s fourth-biggest bank ANZ Group is selling around 298 million shares or a 9% stake worth up to US$242mil in Malaysian lender AMMB Holdings
.
This is according to a term sheet seen by Reuters yesterday.
The shares are being offered at between RM3.80 and RM3.85 per AmBank share, according to the sheet.
This is equivalent to a discount of 8.3% to 9.5% to the closing price of AMMB’s shares of RM4.20 yesterday.
The sale will reduce ANZ’s stake in the Malaysian bank to 12.7% from 21.7%, according to the sheet.
The sale comes three years after ANZ announced it would write down the value of its investment in AMMB after the Malaysian bank settled a claim linked to the massive financial scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
AMMB announced in early 2021 that it would pay the Malaysian government RM2.83bil to settle claims in relation to its role in the scandal in which US$4.5bil was allegedly stolen from 1MDB.
1MDB was a state fund set up by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
AMMB is the sixth-largest banking group by assets in Malaysia, according to its website.
ANZ and AMMB did not immediately respond after working hours yesterday.
The joint placement agents for the sale are BofA Securities and CIMB, the sheet showed. — Reuters
