KINIBIZ CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB Group), RHB Capital Bhd (RHB Cap) and Malaysia Building Society Berhad (MBSB) have ceased discussions on a proposed merger and creation of a mega Islamic bank in light of current economic conditions.

Representatives from CIMB Group and RHB Cap said that concerns over the inability to create value for stakeholders in the current economic conditions was the reason behind their decision to call it off.

“We thoroughly deliberated the merger, and while we remain convinced that the combination of our three franchises follows sound strategic logic, we ultimately were not able to arrive at a value creating transaction for all stakeholders. The decision to cease discussions was arrived at after a detailed review of potential synergies that could be realistically delivered, especially in the current economic environment,” said Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, CIMB Group acting group chief executive officer.

RHB Cap Group managing director Kelle Kam meanwhile said, "We undertook the discussions of the proposed merger on the premise that we would be able to arrive at a value enhancing proposal for our stakeholders and bring it to our respective shareholders. Protecting and creating stakeholder value is paramount to all parties and given the changes in environment we could not conclude a case to proceed further."

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