ANZ to sell 16.5% stake in Malaysian lender AmBank
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: ANZ has agreed to sell 16.5% of its stake in Malaysian lender AmBank via a block trade.
The numbers: The sale price is agreed at 3.85 ringgit ($1.25) per share, and will reduce ANZ's shareholding in AmBank from 21.7% to 5.2%.
ANZ said the sale proceeds will increase its common equity tier 1 ratio by around 16 basis points and is not expected to have a material impact on profit.
The context: ANZ said the sale is in line with the company's strategy of simplifying the bank. The Melbourne-based multinational will continue to have one nominated director on the board of AmBank board.
The settlement, which is expected to take place on 8 March, comes three years after AmBank announced that it would pay the Malaysian government 2.83 billion ringgit to settle claims relating to its role in a scandal in which USD4.5 billion ($6.92 billion) was stolen from the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
The source: ASX announcement
