Egypt's markets regulator is giving billionaire Naguib Sawiris a shot at fulfilling a promise to reinvest in his home country under the new political leadership. The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority said yesterday it approved a 1.83 billion Egyptian pound ($256 million) offer by Sawiris and Cairo-based Beltone Financial Holding to buy about 20 percent of EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, the biggest publicly traded Arab investment bank. EFG-Hermes, also based in Cairo, rose 2.3 percent to 15.35 pounds yesterday, taking its gains since Sawiris's June 5 offer to 17 percent. It marks his second attempt to buy a stake in EFG-Hermes after the bank's shareholders opted for a tie-up with Qatar's QInvest LLC at the time of his first bid two years ago. EFG-Hermes's merger plans with QInvest also failed after the banks failed to win approval from the regulator, known as EFSA. "Naguib Sawiris has said he's interested in investing in Egypt, and taking a stake in a regional investment bank is an easy investment to make," Angus Blair, founder of Signet Institute, a Cairo-based research and consulting group, said by phone from the Egyptian capital. "I'm not sure it'll be an easy purchase for him because EFG-Hermes remains relatively tightly held." If successful, Sawiris will own 17.82 percent of the lender, making his New Egypt Investment Fund BV the bank's biggest shareholder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. EFSA blocked a buyout bid for EFG-Hermes by Sawiris-backed Planet IB in 2012, before shelving a similar offer by QInvest. Sawiris Investment In December, five months after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, whom Sawiris publicly opposed, he pledged to invest $1 billion in the country. Investor appetite is returning after former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi took office as president this month. The deal won't be executed unless Sawiris's bid gets all the stock it's targeting, EFSA Chairman Sherif Samy said in a telephone interview yesterday from Cairo. Beltone would own about 2 percent of EFG-Herme, according to the offer. EFG-Hermes said yesterday it appointed HC Securities & Investment to advise on the bid, according to a statement from the company. The 16 pounds per share-offer must be publicized in two newspapers within two days of the go-ahead, after which it will remain open for 10 working days, EFSA said. Beltone closed 5.5 percent higher at 35.03 pounds, the highest since Bloomberg started tracking them in 2008. The stock surged as much as 9.9 percent after EFSA's decision. Source : bloomberg
