With a three-way merger on the cards, Abu Dhabi’s Al Hilal Bank has reportedly rendered 160 people jobless. The Bank is expected to merge with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and the Union National Bank UNB). A minimum of 500 jobs are expected to be rendered redundant as a result of the merger, with maximum staff from UNB and Al Hilal being affected.
Most of those who have been laid off were from the retail and sales departments. Few from the administration and finance departments were also asked to leave. The layoffs will continue, with more expected to be rendered jobless in the next three months.
There has been a spate of consolidations in the Gulf nations owing to the slow growth of the economy and dipping oil prices. While Al Hilal will function as a separate entity within the merged bank, the merged entity will probably be the third largest bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) year.
This three-way merger will comprise a statutory merger between ADCB and UNB, wherein the former will issue 0.5966 shares for every UNB share, corresponding to a total of 1.64 billion new shares issued to UNB shareholders and valuing UNB at nearly $4 billion.
ADCB and UNB are both listed in Abu Dhabi. Al Hilal, on the other hand, is unlisted and wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), which is a part of state investor Mubadala Investment, and holds the majority of the shares in ADCB and UNB.
