The Bank of Israel licensing committee has given Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) the go-ahead to bid for Turkey's AdaBank AS, after Bank Hapoalim submitted the results of a legal review that allows a merger of AdaBank with Bank Hapoalim's Turkish subsidiary BankPozitif Credi Ve Kalkinma Bankasi AS. That would allow BankPozitif to receive AdaBank's deposits license.
Bank Hapoalim declined to comment on the report.
AdaBank was nationalized a few years ago, and is now controlled by Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).
The deadline for submitting bids is November 24.
Bank Hapoalim's board of directors reportedly instructed management to cap the bid for Adabank at $60 million. However, Turkish officials have unofficially said that they expect at least $85 million for the bank, a figure that reflects a return on shareholders' equity of 3.
Banks from Bahrain and Oman are expected to bid for Adabank. Unconfirmed reports also mention an Iranian government bank. Bank Hapoalim will wait to file a bid until it obtains information about the other bidders.
BankPozitif does not have a permit to receive deposits from the public. Acquiring Adabank, and merging it with BankPozitif, will solve this problem, allowing the latter to receive deposits.
Adabank is a small bank based in Istanbul. It was founded in 1985, and nationalized in 2004 after its owners, the Uzan family, got into trouble with the ruling Islamic party and was accused of fraud.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 1, 2010
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