QNB talks to buy Dexia

Qatar National Bank's talks to acquire Denizbank, the Turkish lender put up for sale by Dexia, are stalled over price and may collapse, sources said. Dexia, which is being broken up after the European debt crisis reduced its ability to obtain funding, has reached out to other potential buyers. The Franco-Belgian lender is seeking about 1.5 times Denizbank's book value of $2.1 billion (Dh7.72 billion), while Doha-based QNB is prepared to pay between 1 and 1.2 times, sources said. Denizbank surged more than 50 per cent since early October, following reports Dexia would sell its majority stake in the bank under its rescue plan. The lender is valued at about 9.3 billion liras (Dh19.47 billion), according to the share price, which rose 3.2 per cent to 13 liras in Istanbul on Friday.