Bangladesh operations: Bank Alfalah receives non-binding offer from Sri Lanka’s Hattan National Bank

Hattan National Bank (HNB), a private-sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka, has made a non-binding offer to acquire Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) Bangladesh’s operations along with its assets and liabilities.

BAFL shared this development in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

“We are pleased to inform that in connection with the proposed sale of Bank Alfalah Limited, Bangladesh operations, the Bank has received a non-binding offer from Hatton National Bank (HNB) of Sri Lanka to acquire the Bank’s Bangladesh operations,” read the notice.

The latest non-binding offer is in addition to the non-binding offer already received from Bank Asia Ltd. (Bangladesh), BAFL said.

BAFL informed that its Board of Directors has accorded its in-principle approval/acceptance of the non- binding offer received from HNB of Sri Lanka to acquire the BAFL’s Bangladesh operations/assets and liabilities, which is subject to compliance with all applicable laws/regulations and obtaining of necessary/ regulatory approvals.

“We will now seek approvals from the central banks of Pakistan and Bangladesh for HNB to commence due diligence on Bank Alfalah, Bangladesh Operations,” read the notice.

Earlier in April, Bank Asia Limited of Bangladesh expressed to acquire BAFL Bangladesh’s operations

Hatton National Bank is a premier private sector commercial bank operating in Sri Lanka with 251 branches spread across the island. The bank has been internationally recognised by the Asian Banker Magazine as the “Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka” on ten occasions from 2007 to 2017.

HNB is actively involved in retail banking, corporate banking, international banking, treasury and project financing.

Meanwhile, BAFL is one of the largest banks in Pakistan, with a network of over 1,024 branches across more than 200 cities in the country, and an international presence in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, and the UAE.

As per the latest financial results, BAFL reported profit after tax of Rs20.6 billion, representing Earning Per Share (EPS) of Rs13.07 for the half year ended June 30, 2024.