Byblos Bank Headquarters, Tuesday, 10 May 2016: Byblos Bank announced that it has completed the acquisition of 99.18% of the shares of Banque Pharaon & Chiha. The shares were mainly acquired following the assignment by Messrs. Raymond Samir Zina Rahmeh and Teddy Samir Zina Rahmeh (collectively known as ZR Group) to Byblos Bank of their shares and rights under share purchase agreements entered into with the former shareholders of Banque Pharaon & Chiha. The consideration is based on a valuation of 100% of the issued share capital of Banque Pharaon & Chiha at USD 91 million. ZR Group has received the preliminary authorization from Banque du Liban to acquire directly or through a holding company especially registered for this purpose, up to 5.6% of the common shares of Byblos Bank calculated on the basis of a share price equal to 125% of Byblos Bank’s audited book value as at 31 December 2015.
Byblos Bank’s acquisition of Banque Pharaon & Chiha, which is a first step to the merger through absorption of the bank subject to the approval of Banque du Liban, is aligned with its long-term strategy of consolidating its robust customer deposit base. With five branches, 100 employees, 30,000 accounts, and deposits of USD 242 million as at end-2015, this is a small acquisition for Byblos Bank, but Banque Pharaon & Chiha’s special place in the history of Lebanon’s financial services industry, and its status as the oldest bank in Lebanon (founded in 1876), makes it highly symbolic. Byblos Bank’s previous acquisitions in Lebanon include: Unicredit Banca Di Roma’s Lebanon branch in 2008; ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s Lebanon branch in 2002; Wedge Bank Middle East in 2001; and Banque Beyrouth pour le Commerce in 1997.
Byblos Bank was established in 1950, and is one of Lebanon’s top three banks with consolidated total assets of USD 19,870 million as at end-2015. It has one of the largest domestic branch networks, and is present in 12 countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Furthermore, Byblos Bank is the only bank in Lebanon whose shareholders include not only the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, but also both the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the development agency of the French government, and its subsidiary, the Société de Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Economique (PROPARCO).