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National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), which began to explore a potential merger with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) earlier this year, has begun the preliminary proceedings.
NBB, in which Bahrain's sovereign welath fund Mumtalakat has a 44% stake, had in June confirmed the appointment of Goldman Sachs as the financial adviser for its negotiation with BBK.
NBB has a market capitalisation of 502 million Bahraini dinars ($1.3 billion) while BBK’s stands at BHD 188 million.
Four years ago, NBB completed its takeover of Bahrain Islamic Bank.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
