Commercialbank acquires majority stake in Alternatifbank in Turkey

The acquisition remains subject to relevant regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2013. As part of the transaction, Commercialbank will also launch a public tender offer to acquire the 4.16% of ABank's shares held in the public domain.

His Excellency, Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, Chairman of Commercialbank, said, "We are delighted to have agreed the terms of the acquisition for a majority stake in ABank. Qatar and Turkey continue to strengthen their relationship which will benefit the new partnership between Commercialbank and ABank enabling both banks to continue to grow and thrive; we look forward to working together with the Anadolu Group and ABank."

Mr. Hussain Al Fardan, Commercialbank's Managing Director, added, "ABank operates in a dynamic economy with good long-term growth prospects, in a country that is strategically and culturally aligned, we believe this represents the logical next step in the execution of our international expansion strategy."

Commercialbank's international expansion strategy has focused, to date, on pan-GCC opportunities. The Bank successfully acquired minority stakes in National Bank of Oman (34.9%) in 2005 and United Arab Bank (40%) in the UAE in 2008 and has forged successful alliances with these banks, developing their financial and operational efficiency and growing them in step with the economies they serve. Over the course of the last few years opportunities for further expansion in the GCC have been reviewed and assessed, and Commercialbank has also looked at opportunities to broaden its presence beyond the GCC in adjacent markets; this acquisition is in line with our strategy and represents the first acquisition of a majority stake in another bank.

Andrew Stevens, Commercialbank's Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "ABank is a model of efficiency and good management and we look forward to working alongside our new partners, Anadolu Group, to develop the capabilities of ABank. We believe that ABank has the potential to be a strong contributor to the future profitability and growth of the Commercialbank Group."

Tuncay Ozilhan, Chairman of Anadolu and Alternatifbank, commented, "We are happy to have agreed this partnership with The Commercial Bank of Qatar and we are looking forward to working together to advance the strategy of ABank as a leading and healthy bank in the growing Turkish financial sector."

The transaction is in line with Anadolu's strategy to focus its resources on its core businesses of food and beverages, power and automotives. Anadolu will retain a 25% stake in ABank and board representation, contributing to the management and development of ABank.