First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, could renew a potential offer for Britain’s Standard Chartered (STAN.L), once lock-up rules from its previous aborted bid expire, Bloomberg News reported.
Shares of StanChart increased up to 9% following the news story. FAB could not immediately be reached for comment, and a spokeswoman for StanChart declined to address the report.
On January 5, FAB revealed it had thought about making a bid for London-listed Standard Chartered but had now decided against it. After a lockup period that forbids it from doing so immediately expires, the Abu Dhabi lender is considering resuming the offer, offering $30 billion to $35 billion versus StanChart’s market value of $24 billion.
StanChart has for years been the subject of takeover talk thanks to its relatively cheap price and exposure to fast-growing markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, but regulatory and practical complexities have stymied the consummation of any such approach.