The big corporate news that headlined Malaysia yesterday was Maybank’s remaining stake purchase from Ageas Holdings for RM4.83 billion to assume full ownership of the insurance unit Etiqa. When asked by BusinessToday on the rationale behind the timing, CEO Datuk Khairusalleh Ramli simply noted that it was a “wiling seller, willing buyer ” moment and that after 25 year’s, Maybank is ready to steer the ship by itself.
Reporting on the strategic move , RHB Research has reaffirmed its “Buy” recommendation with an unchanged target price of RM12.20.
The research house said the RM4.83 billion acquisition for 30.95%, while likely to consume capital in the near term, is expected to enhance earnings, improve return on equity (ROE) and strengthen Maybank’s long-term capital efficiency strategy.
RHB estimates the target price offers around 13% upside, alongside an expected FY2026 dividend yield of about 6%.
Maybank announced that it will acquire Ageas’ remaining stake in MAHB, giving the banking group full ownership of Etiqa’s insurance and takaful businesses in Malaysia and Singapore.
The transaction remains subject to Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval and is targeted for completion by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
RHB believes the acquisition forms part of a broader strategy to improve returns from Maybank’s insurance operations while providing greater flexibility in managing its subsidiaries.
Although the purchase price implies valuation multiples of 1.98 times price-to-book value and 15.3 times price-to-earnings, which are at the higher end of comparable regional transactions, RHB said the premium is justified given Maybank’s extensive banking franchise and distribution network.
The research house said full ownership of Etiqa would allow Maybank to introduce a new bancassurance framework aimed at deepening customer penetration and accelerating product innovation.
Maybank currently serves around 14 million customers across Malaysia and Singapore, of which approximately 70% are not Etiqa customers.
Conversely, around 20% of Etiqa’s four million customers do not currently bank with Maybank.
RHB said the integration presents significant opportunities to cross-sell banking and insurance products while strengthening customer engagement across the group’s retail and commercial banking franchises.
Management has also set a target to raise Etiqa’s return on equity to the mid-teens by 2030, compared with 12.3% recorded in 2025.ion
RHB also believes the acquisition could provide Maybank with greater strategic flexibility in expanding Etiqa’s regional footprint.
With Ageas currently operating insurance businesses in markets such as Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, the research house does not rule out the possibility that full ownership may remove territorial restrictions previously faced by Etiqa.
This could potentially support future regional growth initiatives aligned with Maybank’s ASEAN strategy.
One of the key attractions of the acquisition is the potential for higher dividend upstreaming from Etiqa to the Maybank Group.
RHB noted that Etiqa’s operating companies currently maintain healthy capital positions but have historically distributed only around 30% of earnings as dividends.
Following the acquisition, management intends to gradually align Etiqa’s dividend payout ratio with the broader Maybank Group’s policy of more than 70%, allowing greater cash flow to the parent company and strengthening its ability to sustain attractive shareholder returns.
Maybank expects the acquisition to be immediately earnings accretive.
Management has guided that the transaction could increase profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI) by between 1% and 2%, while earnings per share are expected to improve by less than 1% after accounting for a potential Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP).
The transaction is also projected to lift the group’s ROE by approximately 37 basis points.
While the acquisition is expected to reduce Maybank’s Common Equity Tier-1 (CET-1) ratio by around 200 basis points at the bank level, RHB believes the impact will be substantially mitigated.
The capital reduction is expected to be offset by several initiatives, including a pre-completion dividend from MAHB, an equity-to-debt swap and a one-off DRP for FY2026.
Management indicated that the DRP will only be implemented for FY2026 and is expected to have minimal dilution, increasing the group’s share base by only around 1%, while allowing Maybank to maintain its existing dividend payout ratio.
Given the expected earnings accretion, stronger dividend potential and long-term strategic benefits, RHB maintained its earnings forecasts and RM12.20 target price, reiterating that Maybank remains one of its preferred banking sector picks.
