Shareholders controlling 86 percent of shares in Egyptian biscuitmaker Bisco Misr agreed to sell their shares to U.S. firm Kellogg for a total of $125 million by the time bidding ended on Sunday, the Egyptian stock exchange said. U.S. Kellogg became the only suitor for the biscuit company when private equity firm Abraaj said on Dec. 31 that it would withdraw from a bidding war that drove up the offer price by over 20 percent. By last week, Kellogg had secured the support of shareholders controlling nearly 60 percent of Bisco Misr's shares, but the group has said that it was willing to buy 100 percent. A recent flurry of mergers and rights issues has boosted activity on the Cairo bourse, which struggled to revive investor confidence in the turmoil that has followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. Though relatively small, the acquisition suggests growing international interest in the Egyptian market. "The Bisco Misr deal will not be the last in Egypt's food sector ... We see more acquisitions in the coming period to take advantage of strong domestic demand in Egypt," said Mohsen Adel of Pioneers Investment Management. Food is seen as a fast-growing sector in the most populous Arab nation of 90 million people and Bisco is a well-known brand with three baking facilities in Cairo Misr and Alexandria. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/120072.aspx
