Key Dubai Shareholder Opts Out Of Bank Muscat Rights Sale

Dubai Group, the investment vehicle owned by the emirate’s ruler and second-largest shareholder in Bank Muscat, has sold its rights to buy into a share offering by the Omani lender at a significant discount, two sources said on Sunday.

Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest lender, offered new shares to existing holders at a 25-percent discount to raise about $251 million to fund its credit growth and venture into Islamic finance.

Dubai Group, in the midst of a $10-billion debt restructuring, had the rights to buy an additional 33.387 million shares, valued at about 0.06 rials ($0.16).

The investment firm sold most of those rights at almost a 50-percent discount in two separate over-the-counter deals for between 0.03 rials and 0.035 rials each on Thursday, the sources said speaking on condition of anonymity.

Reuters