Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding to acquire 16% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi

Kingdom Holding Co. (KHC) said it concluded on Monday a deal with Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (Credit Agricole CIB) to buy 195.27 million shares of Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), representing a 16.2 percent in the lender.

Under the agreement, the shares will be acquired at a price of SAR 29.5 per share for a total value of SAR 5.76 billion to be financed from Kingdom Holding’s available liquidity and existing bank facilities, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday.

The deal, which comes in line with Kingdom Holding’s strategic plans, is expected to be wrapped up during H2 2017, pending regulatory approvals.

Credit Agricole CIB will remain a strategic investor in BSF after the transaction, Kingdom Holding added.

Any financial impact will be determined following the completion of the transaction.

After completing the deal, Credit Agricole CIB’s stake in BSF will drop to 14.9 percent, BSF said in a separate statement.

Credit Agricole CIB may sell an additional equity stake of up to 5 percent in BSF through off-market block trade deals. It is committed to keeping a stake of at least 9.9 percent in BSF for a period ending one year after the closing of the transaction. 

BSF reported net revenue of SAR 6.4 billion in 2016, with total assets standing at SAR 203.43 billion as of Dec. 31, 2016.

The deal will not affect the Tadawul-listed bank’s clients or employees, BSF said.