Tunisia's biggest bank by market value is seeking to take over another local giant, the country's largest brokerage, in a deal that may boost the financial products it can offer in the struggling economy.
Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie is hoping to complete its acquisition of a more than 50% stake in Tunisie Valeurs SA by April, after its board approved paying 18.15 dinars per share, according to BIAT spokeswoman Khansa Bouassida.
The takeover offers “significant potential for the development of BIAT's financial activities” and will help the lender develop a corporate offering, Boussida said Tuesday by phone.
The deal is worth about 72.6 million dinars ($26 million), Tunisie Valeurs' director general, Walid Saibi, said in a separate interview. The brokerage has a 19% share of the market, making it Tunisia's biggest, according to its website.
Tunisia, the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring that overthrew a long-term president, is striving to make economic gains to match its democratic ones, with successive governments accused of failing to tackle key issues like youth unemployment and inflation.
Read more on Tunisia's economic challenges
--With assistance from Souhail Karam.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Tunis at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Mark Williams
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