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Exclusive: Bahrain's Ahli United Bank reviews sale or merger - sources

Published 16/04/2014, 15:13

LONDON (Reuters) - Ahli United Bank (AUB) , Bahrain's largest lender, is evaluating a sale or a merger with a strategic peer in a possible $5 billion deal, several bankers familiar with the situation said.

After previous sale attempts to a bank based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area in 2010, AUB's shareholders, which include funds owned by the governments of Kuwait and Bahrain, have resumed plans to cash out, the bankers said.

Shares in AUB are up 14 percent since January and have risen by over a third in the past 12 months. Bankers said any deal would be driven by Kuwaiti shareholders' willingness to monetise their investments.

AUB declined to comment. State-backed shareholders in Kuwait and Bahrain were not available for comment.

(Reporting by Anjuli Davies, Pamela Barbaglia and Sophie Sassard in London and David French in Dubai)

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