Oman funds "interested" in Dubai's Bank Muscat stake

Four Omani pension funds are interested in buying Dubai Holding's stake in Bank Muscat through a consortium, two officials close to the pension funds said on Sunday.

The pension funds want to buy the debt-laden conglomerate's entire stake in Oman's largest lender or a portion of it at "market price," one official said. Last week, bankers and analysts said the debt-laden conglomerate was looking to sell the stake to meet its debt burden. "Dubai Holding has high expectations of the sale. We, as a consortium of pension funds, are interested to buy partly or wholly from them at market price and not premium price," one of the officials told Reuters on Sunday, asking not to be identified. The funds are not in direct talks with Dubai Holdings, the sources said.