Emirates NBD could agree to buy Turkey’s Denizbank within weeks, sources said, after intense lobbying by the Turkish bank to convince President Tayyip Erdogan of the benefits of the potential USD5.3bn deal despite the current Gulf diplomatic rift. Emirates NBD said it was in preliminary talks to buy Denizbank from Russia’s Sberbank in January, but the plan has met resistance from Erdogan, four sources told Reuters. While Erdogan does not have direct control over Turkey’s banks, the president could potentially block any deal by telling the country’s BDDK banking watchdog not to approve it. Repeated efforts by Denizbank’s CEO to persuade Erdogan of the case for the takeover illustrate the president’s important role in sealing major deals in Turkey. Although it still requires approval, the deal is expected to be agreed in “the next few weeks”, one of the sources said.

Emirates NBD (DU): AED10.30 as of 22 Mar. 2018, Rating: Buy, TP: AED10.10/share, MCap: USD15,599mn, EMIRATES UH/ENBD.DU