Arab Finance: Egypt has increased the stake it plans to offer in Banque du Caire on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) to 45%, from 30% previously, an unnamed official source told Asharq Business.
The offering could raise up to EGP 33 billion, with an indicative price range of EGP 4.3 to EGP 4.82 per share, according to the source.
Another source said the range falls below the estimated fair value of EGP 5.3 per share, which would value Egypt’s third-largest state-owned bank at approximately EGP 80.8 billion. The bank has paid-in capital of EGP 30.5 billion, divided into 15.25 billion shares with a par value of EGP 2 each.
The sale will comprise a private placement for qualified investors in Egypt and several other countries, alongside a public offering for individual investors in Egypt.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are seeking to acquire a combined 10% stake through the anticipated initial public offering (IPO), sources told Asharq Business in August.
Banque du Caire said that it expects subscriptions to close in late October, with trading on the EGX scheduled to begin in November, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.
The timetable follows an announcement in April by Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid that the IPO would take place in the second half (H2) of 2026. In a previous interview with Asharq Business, Hashem El-Sayed, assistant to the prime minister and CEO of the State-Owned Enterprises Unit, projected that the offering would be completed in November and fully subscribed within one week.
Plans to sell shares in Banque du Caire have faced repeated delays. Although its shares were registered on the EGX in 2017, market volatility and disagreements over the bank’s valuation postponed the sale.
A valuation gap also stalled acquisition negotiations with Dubai-based lender Emirates NBD in June 2025. The bank raised its offer to $1.5 billion, while the Egyptian government maintained a valuation of $1.8 billion for the entire institution. The government subsequently turned to a public offering.
The IPO forms part of Egypt’s privatization program, which seeks to increase private sector participation in the economy through sales of stakes in state-owned companies and banks, either on the EGX or to strategic investors.
