• The Egyptian government is waiting for Banque du Caire’s fair value to assess the potential sale of a full stake.
• Emirates NBD is cleared to conduct due diligence for a possible 60% stake acquisition.
• Rumors suggest the bank could be valued at USD 1 billion to USD 1.5 billion, but these figures are speculative.

There has been a lot of talk about the Emirates NBD acquisition of Banque du Caire so what are the latest updates? 

Banque du Caire

What is happening? The Egyptian government is waiting for the fair value of Banque du Caire to evaluate its suitability for selling a full stake. They will need to assess the suitability of the valuation against Egypt’s economic developments and conditions. 

So, what’s the latest? This comes after the Central Bank of Egypt has given Emirates NBD the green light to conduct due diligence on Banque du Caire. This is ahead of a potential 60% stake in the bank according to Alarabiya Business.

Valution

But here’s the catch: The source who spoke to Alarabiya clarified that there is no clear valuation of the bank and what is being discussed are merely leaks that might not be reliable.  Furthermore, speculation suggest that the bank could be valued anywhere from  USD 1 billion to USD 1.5 billion. However, back in 2008, the bank was valued at USD 2 billion by the National Bank of Greece.

Why does that matter? It is fair to assume that the valuation will differ massively between 2008 and 2025. Especially when considering the change in the USD-EGP exchange rate. In 2008, the rate was 5.5 EGP to the dollar. Today? It’s 50.6 EGP to the dollar.

So, what happens if the valuation is deemed unsuitable?  The government will consider offering a stake in Banque du Caire on the Egyptian Stock Exchange instead of selling a controlling stake.