City Of London
Standard Chartered Faces Fresh Questions After Report of Middle East Bank’s Takeover Bid
- FAB says ‘no longer’ evaluating bid after Bloomberg report
- StanChart’s emerging market focus makes it appealing: analysts
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Standard Chartered Plc’s Bill Winters wanted to mark the start of 2023 “with a little kindness,” he said on LinkedIn, but instead finds himself in the middle of a fresh debate about the emerging market lender’s future.
On Thursday, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC revealed it had looked at a bid for Standard Chartered in a statement that came minutes after Bloomberg News reported that the Middle East’s largest bank had spent months exploring options, including a takeover. While FAB said it’s no longer evaluating a possible offer, the news sent shares in the London-listed lender higher as investors weighed the prospects of any deal.