Bloomberg: First Abu Dhabi may renew $35 billion offer for Standard Chartered

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest bank, may renew a potential offer for British bank Standard Chartered once the freeze rules associated with its previous bid, which it retracted, expire.

Standard Chartered shares jumped 9 percent after the report.

A Standard Chartered spokesman declined to comment on the report, while First Abu Dhabi Bank could not be contacted yet to request comment.

News about the potential offer was first reported on January 5, and First Abu Dhabi announced at the time that it was considering making an offer related to London-listed Standard Chartered, but stopped considering the matter.

And Bloomberg reported that Abu Dhabi First is considering reviving the offer once the freeze period that prevents it from doing so expires, and that it will make an offer ranging between 30 and 35 billion dollars, while the market value of Standard Chartered is 24 billion.

Under UK and Hong Kong takeover rules, FAB cannot make an offer to take over Standard Chartered within six months of the termination of the previous potential offer without the approval of the British bank’s board of directors or in the absence of a competing takeover offer.

Standard Chartered has for years been the subject of talk about acquisitions given its relatively cheap price and exposure to fast-growing markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but the organizational and practical complexities impede the completion of any of them.