UAE investor eyes stake in Ahli United

An unidentified investor from the United Arab Emirates wants to buy a majority stake in Bahraini lender Ahli United Bank, a Kuwaiti newspaper said on Wednesday.

The investor would pay $3 per share, well above Tuesday's closing price of $1.25, for the stake and wanted to hold talks with one of Ahli's major shareholders, a newspaper said in an unsourced report.

"No official offer has been made yet," the paper said, adding that a Kuwaiti investment firm, which has strong relations with the UAE investor, was trying to broker a deal.

Last summer, the Bahraini lender had been targeted by International Bank of Qatar, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait, which made a $6.1 billion offer.

But in August, Kuwait's Tamdeen Investment Co., which was then Ahli's second-largest shareholder, turned down the bid.

Tamdeen is now the third-largest investor in the bank with a 10.09 per cent stake after a Kuwaiti and a Bahraini pension fund, according to the Kuwaiti bourse website.

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