Kuwait Investment Fund acquires the United Bank in Egypt.. Details

Recent reports revealed that the Kuwait Investment Fund had acquired the United Bank, one of the most famous banks in Egypt.

The deal was concluded in the interest of the Kuwait Investment Fund, at a value of about $660 million, while the contracts will be officially signed after the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Egyptian government offers

The Egyptian government had earlier reduced the offers submitted to buy the bank to only two offers, the first for the Qatari Sovereign Fund and the other for the Kuwait Investment Fund, and the contracts were prepared for signing after the Eid al-Fitr holiday ended.

The Egyptian government was scheduled to start the procedures for selling the "United Bank" in the coming days, after choosing one of the offers that submitted to acquire it.

The acquisition offers submitted were reduced to two offers, provided that the deal and the details of the offer will be announced immediately after Eid.

The United Bank is one of the Egyptian banks that Egypt is working to exit from as part of an exit plan from more than 32 state-owned companies, by offering them on the stock exchange or selling shares to strategic investors, or both.

The Central Bank of Egypt, which owns the "United Bank", sent requests to investment banks to submit offers to play the role of advisor to sell the bank.

Egypt aims to collect 6 billion theses

About four years ago, the Egyptian government announced a program to offer stakes in a number of companies between initial subscriptions and capital increases for already listed entities.

The Egyptian government aims to collect about 6 billion pounds by the end of 2023 from the offerings of its companies on the stock exchange, including “Bank of Cairo” and “Misr Life Insurance Company,” according to statements by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Al-Saeed.

Last month, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that "Egypt intends to sell government shares in 32 companies, starting from the first quarter of this year until the end of the first quarter of 2024."

privatization plan

He said, "Banque du Caire, The United Bank and Arab African International Bank will be among the companies included in the privatization plan, and more companies can be added to the initial public offering program."

The government offerings program on the Egyptian Stock Exchange aims to expand the corporate ownership base and attract private sector investments in a way that aims to maximize the contribution of the National Service Agency with its various companies in supporting the national economy.