EFG Hermes, Egypt Sovereign Fund reportedly to complete due diligence on AIB bank in Feb

By Amwal Al Ghad English On Nov 23, 2020

EFG Hermes and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) will complete due diligence on the Arab Investment Bank (AIB) by February 2021 ahead of a potential acquisition of a 76 percent stake in the state-owned bank, according to Masrawy.

In September, SFE chief executive Ayman Soliman said that the process could be wrapped up by the end of the year.

However, EFG Hermes and the SFE announced in June that they had been given the greenlight by the central bank to start due diligence on the AIB, and that they planned to purchase of a 76 percent stake through a capital increase to 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($319.2 million), which they were hoping to complete before the year’s end.

EFG Hermes would become the controlling shareholder with a 51 percent stake, while the SFE would take up to 25 percent. The state-owned National Investment Bank (NIB) currently holds 91.4 percent of the bank, with the remaining 8.6 percent held by the Federation of Arab Republics.