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(1)ABN AMRO Press Room: ABN AMRO acquires a controlli.... http://www.abnamro.com/pressroom/releases/2007.... Search Advanced Search. Home Contact Site map. Press Room. Client Segments Careers Press Room Investor Relations About ABN AMRO Worldwide Presence Corporate Governance. Press Room Press Releases Archive Media Kit Share Information Webcasts & Presentations Contact Press Relations. Karachi, 05 March 2007. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.. ABN AMRO acquires a controlling stake in Prime Bank. Press Relations (HQ 9140) P.O. Box 283 1000 EA Amsterdam The Netherlands. ABN AMRO today announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire a 93.4% interest in Prime Bank from shareholders for a cash consideration of PKR 13.8 bln (EUR 172 mln), equivalent to PKR 54 per share. In addition ABN AMRO announced its intention to launch a tender offer for all remaining shares of Prime Bank from minority shareholders.. Contact Press Relations. ABN AMRO is already the third largest foreign bank in Pakistan. The acquisition will add significant scale to ABN AMRO's franchise in Pakistan, making the combined entity the second largest foreign bank and one of the top 10 banks in the country with assets of PKR 124 bln (EUR 1547 mln) and over 80 branches. Prime Bank's profile is an excellent strategic fit for ABN AMRO's mid-market strategy. On the commercial side, over 50% of Prime Bank's current loan portfolio is placed with small-to-medium enterprises (SME's), enabling ABN AMRO to build critical mass and diversify its risk portfolio in a high growth SME business banking market. Activities of SME and corporate clients in Pakistan are increasing significantly, in particular via trade between Pakistan and Asia. On the consumer side, Prime Bank's concentration of branches in the major cities enables ABN AMRO to quickly access an under penetrated, fast growing mass affluent client base in Pakistan, providing an opportunity to implement a differentiated service level and multi-product offering. "Pakistan has one of the world's fastest growing financial markets and is a key growth market for ABN AMRO in Asia," said Jeroen Drost, Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Asia. "This transaction presents tremendous opportunities to accelerate our activities in the Pakistan market as we bring together our global expertise and resources with Prime Bank's local client base and extensive distribution network." Prime Bank is a growing local bank providing a full range of consumer and commercial banking services. The bank has PKR 52 bln (EUR 654 mln) in assets, PKR 41 bln (EUR 508 mln) in deposits and is the 19th largest bank in Pakistan. It has an extensive network of 69 branches in 25 of Pakistan's major cities. Naved A Khan, Country Executive of ABN AMRO Pakistan said: "The acquisition not only underscores our commitment to expanding further in Pakistan, it also enhances significantly our ability to serve a larger client base with more sophisticated product offerings and customer services.". The offer price of PKR 54 per share, equivalent to a price to book ratio of 4.0x, represents a premium of 41.8% over Prime Bank's average share price over the past 12 months. ABN AMRO believes that the offer price is fair to minority shareholders as it is the same price that is being paid to the majority shareholders selling the control. ABN AMRO intends to finance the acquisition and tender offer through internal resources. The tender offer is expected to commence on 09/03/2007 and to close on or about 30/03/2007. Media Enquiries: Local media Tauqeer Muhajir +92 300 823 1073 International media Steven Blaney +852 2700 5562 Investor relations Alexander Mollerus +31 20 6288063. Disclaimer | Privacy Statement | Security Copyright © 1998-2006 ABN AMRO Bank N.V. All rights reserved.. 1 sur 1. WorldReginfo - b4ffc9ab-3e37-4d5f-85c1-5fdae99ec8e6. Mr Saeed Chaudhry, President and CEO of Prime Bank said: "We have achieved strong organic growth and market share increase in the past. This merger with a global bank like ABN AMRO will further fast track the growth of the combined entity. ABN AMRO has been committed to Pakistan since 1948 and provides a strong platform for our clients, through global product expertise, and for our staff in terms of personal and professional development opportunities.". 6/06/07 12:24.

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