Dubai’s Emirates NBD sells $205 mln additional stake in Network International

Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, said in a statement that it has offloaded more stake in London-headquartered payments services provider Network International Holdings PLC, raising GBP 160 million ($205.2 million).

The bank said in a statement on Wednesday that it sold 31 million ordinary shares in Network International at 515 pence ($6.61) per share.
Emirates NBD also confirmed that Network International – which is listed on the London Stock Exchange – would not receive any proceeds from the sale.

Following the transaction, the bank will hold 28.6 million ordinary shares in the share capital of Network International, accounting for 5.7 percent of the company’s entire issued share capital.

Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley were joint bookrunners, or coordinators for the placing, Emirates NBD added.

In September, Emirates NBD had sold 52.6 million shares in Network International at a price of 580 pence per share, to institutional investors, raising GBP 304.9 million in proceeds.

Emirates NBD’s net profit jumped 63 percent year-on-year to 12.5 billion dirhams in the first nine months of 2019, the bank said in October, citing the acquisition of DenizBank earlier in the year and the sale of Network International as factors that supported its earnings for the period.

Excluding DenizBank’s acquisition and the impact of the Network International transaction, the lender’s net profit would have rose only 3 percent, it added.

Network International, through its affiliates, offers payment solutions such as prepaid card solutions, online payment, cashback, and other similar services. The company serves users in the Middle East and Africa.