Banque du Caire is heading to market in a bigger way than anyone originally planned. State-owned Banque Misr, the parent company, has confirmed it will sell 45% of the bank, up from the 30% it initially put on the table. At the expected offer price of EGP 5.30 per share, that translates to roughly EGP 36.4 billion, or about $680 million, making this Egypt's largest IPO in five years.
The demand driving that decision is hard to ignore. The institutional book came in roughly six times oversubscribed, and both the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation have each committed to buying up to 15.74% of the private placement. Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority has since approved the expanded sale, giving the deal its official green light.
Banque du Caire is Egypt's sixth-largest commercial lender, and this offering comes on the heels of MNT-Halan's well-received public debut, which has clearly sharpened investor appetite for Egyptian financial sector names. The question now is whether this momentum carries into the broader market or stays concentrated in finance.
Originally published by TechCabal.