Bank of America (BofA) has acquired 1.51% stake in Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, through the market deals.
Under the agreement, the North Carolina-based lender bought 100 million shares of Emirates NBD for around AED900m ($245m).
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The bank bought these shares through its investment banking arm Merrill Lynch. The transaction was confirmed by Emirates NBD sources.
Commenting on the transaction, a source said: “It is difficult to say whether it was acquired by the American bank for itself or a client.
“But the high probability is that such deals are generally conducted on behalf of the clients, especially high net worth individuals.”
Reports emerged stating that the transaction has not been reported to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) because the transaction does not warrant a market filing.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the rules set by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), a company must report the sale and purchase of shares in public shareholding companies in the UAE, only if the transaction exceeds 5% of total shares available.
Additionally, once the 5% threshold is achieved, any 1% increase or decrease in the stake ownership must be disclosed as well.
Listed on the DFM, the bank recorded AED14.5bn ($3.94bn) in net profit, and AED683bn ($186bn) in total assets in 2019.
