A third yet-unnamed suitor enters race to Acquire Blom Bank Egypt

Competition heated as another foreign non-banking financial institution is said to have entered the race with Emirates NBD and Bahrain’s Arab Banking Corporation (Bank ABC) to acquire the Lebanese Blom Bank operations Egypt according to the local reports.

Yet the unnamed suitor will face challenges convincing the Central Bank of Egypt to allow it to start due diligence for being a non-bank financial services institution.

On the other hand, Bank ABC has hired HSBC as its financial advisor on the transaction. The Bahraini bank expects the CBE to greenlight its request to begin due diligence on Blom by the end of the week, the sources said.

In addition, Bank ABC tabled a request to start the due diligence process earlier this week.

However, Emirates NBD has already start the due diligence process hiring the international law film Fieldfisher.

Blom confirmed last month it is looking to sell its Egypt assets as its home country suffers its worst economic crisis in decades. Dubai-based Emirates NBD was the first to show interest. NBD is said to be close to completing its due diligence on the transaction, which could value Blom’s Egypt arm at USD 250-300 mn.