Today marks a legal milestone in the merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group under the name of Saudi National Bank (SNB). As the execution of mergers and acquisition transactions are complex and time-consuming, the legal date of April 1 will be followed by continuous efforts to combine the entities.

With SR837 billion ($223 billion) in assets, SNB will be Saudi Arabia’s largest bank, accounting for a market share of 25 percent across all metrics. It will be well capitalized with a combined equity of SR120 billion. The combination of the country’s largest with its fourth-largest lender creates a national champion across the board. It is bound to be profitable for shareholders, with estimated synergies worth SR800 million. It was already profitable for Samba shareholders, who received a premium over the unaffected share price.

The largest shareholder in SNB is the Public Investment Fund — the Saudi sovereign wealth fund — who, together with the Public Pension Agency and General Organization for Social Insurance, holds just above 50 percent of the shares.

Source Credit: Arab News