CIMB seeks to acquire two rivals to create Malaysia’s biggest bank

 Customers use cash machines at a branch of CIMB Bank in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s second-largest bank is likely to offer an all-stock deal to buy RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society.

Reuters/Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia’s CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is seeking to acquire two lenders to create the country’s biggest bank, a source familiar with the deal said, a move that is likely to push larger rival Maybank and others in the region to bulk up too.

CIMB, the nation’s second-largest bank, is likely to offer an all-stock deal to buy RHB Capital Bhd and Malaysia Building Society Bhd although details have yet to be hammered out, the source said. The source declined to be identified as the matter was not yet public.

Shares in all three banks were halted pending the release of a material announcement.

The proposal comes ahead of a planned partial integration of Southeast Asian economies that is due to begin by the end of next year, with countries in the 10-nation alliance keen to build national champions to bolster their banking systems.

CIMB has been the most acquisitive of Malaysia’s banks and a deal would be the last major move by CEO Nazir Razak, brother to the prime minister, before he relinquishes the helm in September after 15 years.

A successful deal would see CIMB’s assets climb to 614bn ringgit ($195bn), 6% bigger than Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and could help with pricing power in an intensely competitive domestic market.

But some analysts warned it may pay too much and that there could be too much overlap between CIMB and RHB – the nation’s No. 4 bank, as they have similar portfolio mixes and strengths.

RHB and Malaysia Building Society have a combined market capitalisation of around $9bn, almost half of CIMB’s $19bn market value.

“We opine that such a merger could be value destructive to the merged entity given the degree of operational and revenue duplications between CIMB and RHB Capital,” brokerage UOB KayHian said in a client note.

Representatives for CIMB did not respond to requests for comment while RHB said there was no further update at this stage. Representatives for Malaysia Building Society were not immediately available for comment.

The Edge newspaper said all three banks had submitted an application on Wednesday to the central bank to begin talks.

A deal would make CIMB Asean’s fourth-largest bank after Singapore’s three biggest lenders. By comparison, the largest, DBS Group Holdings, has assets of $337bn.

Nazir is the architect of the bank’s expansion over the past decade that saw it buy domestic rival Southern Bank, the Asia equities and investment banking business of RBS as well as lenders in Indonesia and Thailand.

A new deal is bound to heap pressure on Maybank to acquire a rival too, analysts said, with some speculating that Public Bank Bhd could fall within its sights.

“Maybank might want to take over Public Bank, which compared to RHB Capital, is much better in terms of asset quality, and is well-managed and well-capitalised. This makes Public Bank a vulnerable target,” said Ei Leen Tan, an analyst with Affin Investment.

A key player in any acquisition by CIMB of its two smaller rivals will be the Malaysian state pension fund, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). It owns 41.3% of RHB and 65% of Malaysia Building Society. The fund also owns a 14.5% stake in CIMB, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Another will be Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investment which bought a 25% stake in RHB for 10.80 ringgit per share in 2011 – regarded as a particularly high valuation. Both CIMB and Maybank walked away from a deal to buy RHB in 2011 after failing to secure support from Aabar. The state fund currently owns nearly 22% of RHB.

The EPF said in an email it would not be able to comment on the matter as it is very preliminary in nature and specific details are still pending. A spokesman for Aabar said it doesn’t comment on any of its investments.

While plans for Asean integration are widely expected to suffer delays, bankers and analysts expect more deals done as the banks from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia prepare for a more competitive landscape.

“This will give impetus to other countries in the region to think of something similar,” said an M&A banker who advises on bank deals.