Banque Misr Increases Banque du Caire IPO to 45%, Targeting $680 Million

Egypt's state-owned Banque Misr announced that it will increase its planned sale of shares in its subsidiary Banque du Caire from 30% to 45%.

The increase, approved by the Financial Regulatory Authority, sets the offer price at EGP 5.30 per share, equivalent to about $0.10. At that price, the transaction is expected to raise roughly EGP 36.4 billion ($680 million), making it the largest initial public offering in Egypt in the past five years.

Investor demand

Bookbuilding for the private placement showed strong interest, with the institutional order book reported to be about six times oversubscribed. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation each indicated willingness to purchase up to 15.74% of the offering.

Both brokerages that covered the deal valued Banque du Caire between EGP 6.55 and EGP 7.80 per share, above the set offer price, suggesting investors see the price as discounted.

Implications

The IPO is a secondary offering; Banque du Caire will not receive the proceeds. Banque Misr will retain a 55% stake after the sale.

Analysts note that the enlarged offering signals robust demand for Egyptian assets and supports the government's target to divest $1.5 billion of state holdings under its International Monetary Fund programme. The bank’s sale alone could provide close to $1 billion of that goal.

Trading of the shares is scheduled to begin in the coming days. Market pricing will reveal whether investors’ willingness to pay the offer price reflects the bank’s intrinsic value.