Malayan Bank (Maybank) agreed to buy 15% of MCB Bank for M$2.17 billion ($685.5 million) – an 11% premium on the stock price. It has also secured the right to buy an additional 5% stake in MCB for $247 million from three other institutional investors. This acquisition values MCB at 5.13 times book value. Despite being above the average 4.1 times for Pakistani banks, it is still a more reasonable price tag than the 5.47 times book value that Standard Chartered paid for a controlling stake in Union Bank in July 2006, when the Pakistani banking sector first opened to...
