Emirates NBD Eyes 60% Stake in Banque du Caire, Awaits Valuation Approval

Editorial Team

Last updated 21-03-2025

2 min

Emirates NBD is exploring a deal to acquire Egypt's Banque du Caire.

The Egyptian government is waiting on a fair valuation before deciding on a stake sale.

Market speculation suggests the bank's value lies between 1 and 1,5 billion US dollars.

Exchange rate changes since 2008 affect the current bank valuation significantly.

If expectations aren't met, Egypt might list the bank on the stock exchange instead.

Talk surrounding Emirates NBD and its pursuit of an acquisition deal for Egypt's Banque du Caire has been gathering pace lately, but the whole situation remains clouded in uncertainty.

According to reports, the Egyptian government is currently waiting on the bank's fair valuation figure before deciding if a full stake sale is really the wisest choice—especially considering Egypt’s current economic climate. It's a classic example of looking before you leap, essentially, to ensure the nation secures the best deal possible.

The Central Bank of Egypt recently approved Emirates NBD to carry out due diligence, spelling out clear intentions for the bank to potentially snap up about 60% of Banque du Caire. A recent report by Alarabiya Business confirmed as much, though crucially adding an important caveat: the figures flying about at the moment are merely speculation and are far from confirmed.

At the centre of all this speculation sits the bank's valuation. Marketplace rumblings have indicated a rough valuation ranging between 1 and 1.5 billion US dollars—a sharp drop from its reputed 2 billion dollar price tag back in 2008 when the National Bank of Greece was sizing up its value.

Now, we have to bear in mind the shift in exchange rates since those days, which has clearly turned the tables quite significantly. Back in 2008, $1 equalled around 5.5 Egyptian pounds, whereas these days you're looking at roughly 50.6 EGP to the dollar. Hardly peanuts, is it?

Should the eventual valuation not meet the Egyptian government's expectations—and that's a very real possibility—they may go a different route entirely. Instead of selling a controling interest, the government may float a stake of Banque du Caire on the Egyptian Stock Exchange to reel in further investment that way.

Of course, a lot still depends on that elusive final valuation number. The whole deal remains speculative for now, and industry-watchers—including over at Arageek—will surely be keeping a very keen eye on proceedings.

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