Muscat – The board of directors of Oman Investment & Finance Company (OIFC) has approved the final merger offer from Dhofar International Development & Investment Holding Company (DIDIC).

DIDIC submitted its final offer for the merger to the OIFC board last week.

‘We would like to announce that following careful consideration, the board of directors of OIFC has approved the proposed merger terms and conditions in its meeting held on Thursday,’ OIFC said in a disclosure to the Muscat Stock Exchange on Sunday.

According to the merger offer, the value of OIFC has been determined at RO25.2mn, the company noted. It added that the swap ratio offered to the shareholders of OIFC is 0.3488 shares of the merged entity (DIDIC) for every owned share of OIFC. Accordingly, 86,809,825 shares in the merged entity will be allocated to the OIFC shareholders.

OIFC said, ‘The board of directors of the company believes that the merger is in the interest of OIFC shareholders and has therefore approved the calling of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the shareholders of OIFC.’

The EGM will consider the merger and present the OIFC shareholders with an explanatory statement including the terms and conditions of the merger, and other supporting documents, with the board’s recommendation to vote in favour of the merger.

In addition to the approval of the shareholders of the two companies, the merger remains subject to the approvals of the competent authorities.

OIFC said there will be no immediate changes as a result of the disclosure. Both companies will remain independent and continue to operate their business as usual until the merger is completed.

In a separate disclosure, DIDIC confirmed that it has received acceptance from the board of directors of OIFC for the merger offer between DIDIC and OIFC.

The EGMs of the two companies’ shareholders will be held to obtain the final decision on the proposed merger.

According to OIFC, a separate announcement will be made in relation to the date, time, and agenda of the EGM in due course and in accordance with applicable laws.

DIDIC is one of the largest investment holding companies in Oman. Its main activities include investment in businesses, marketable securities, and the promotion of new projects. The company holds investments in subsidiary and associate companies.

On the other hand, OIFC is Oman’s leading organisation in billing and collection of utilities, providing a centralised collection point for customers to pay for their electricity, water, and telecom utilities. It is also involved in the collection of Public Authority for Social Insurance subscriptions and investments in the banking, finance, and electricity contracting sectors.