EGX Halts Trading For NSGB’s Stock On Due Diligence Completion News

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) decided to suspend trading for National Société Générale Bank – NSGB – (NSGB.CA)’s stock till receiving a reply from the lender for its inquiries about the news published in a website about completing due diligence.

On Monday, Qatar National Bank (QNB) has completed the due diligence on the acquisition of a 77.2% stake valued at about US$ 2.8 billion in Cairo-based National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) and the deal is likely to be completed next week, a person close to the deal told Zawya.

QNB, the state lender seeking to boost its regional presence through acquisitions, hired J.P. Morgan Chase to advice on its planned buy of Societe Generale’s Egyptian arm, Reuters reported in September. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) had given the Qatari bank 60 days to complete due diligence, which it did last week, the person said on condition of anonymity, because he is not authorized to speak on the subject.