BMB seeks full control over Bank Islam Malaysia

Seeks 49% stake in oldest Malaysian Islamic bank.

BIMB Holdings Berhad (BMB) is offering US$885 million for a controlling stake in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd. from its partners.

The Malaysian investment holding company will pay US$550 million for Dubai Financial Group LLC’s 30.5% stake and US$334.6 million for the 18.5% held by Lembaga Tabung Haji, a Malaysian pilgrimage fund.

The deals will boost BMB’s profitability and help implement more focused group-wide strategies, BMB said. The increased stake would give BMB a larger share of global Islamic financial assets that are forecast to double to US$3 trillion by 2015, said Standard and Poor’s.

Bank Islam is BMB’s largest investment. Established in 1983, it offers financial services that comply with Islam’s ban on interest. It now has a network of 130 branches and over 1,000 ATMs around Malaysia.