EFG Hermes, the largest investment bank in Egypt, announced on Monday February 21 that it had received the approval of its board of directors to entrust Goldman Sachs with the takeover offer presented by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) .
On February 9, the main Emirati bank presented, in fact, a non-binding offer to acquire a majority stake in EFG Hermes concerning at least 51% of the shares of the bank for 19 Egyptian pounds ($1.21) by stock, valuing Egypt’s leading investment bank at nearly $1.2 billion. The market value of the transaction is expected to exceed $970 million.
It should be noted that the Egyptian bank has just finalized the closing of a first issue worth 794 million EGP (50.5 million dollars) as part of a securitization program of 2.5 billion euros. EGP ($159 million), on behalf of Egyptian property developer Misr Italia Properties. EFG Hermes acted as sole financial advisor, deal manager, bookrunner, underwriter and arranger on the issuance. Arab Investment Bank also participated in the transaction alongside Commercial International Bank, Banque du Caire, National Bank of Egypt and Suez Bank.