(AFP Photo)
The Qatar National Bank (QNB) acquired on Monday 100% of the 443,535,902 shares of National Société Générale Bank (NSGB), the Egyptian subsidiary of the French Société Générale Bank, in accordance with provision from Article 12 of Capital Market Law 95, passed in 1992.
Each share was sold at EGP 35.65 per share, with the total value of the sale reaching EGP 16.142bn.
Negotiations took place between Société Générale, NSGB’s primary shareholder, owning 88.18% of its stock, and a number of advisory institutions and brokers. The parties agreed that the bank’s shares would be sold at $5.7667 a piece, however they would be purchased using Egyptian pounds at exchange rates determined by Egypt’s Central Bank on the day of purchase.
The minimum amount of shares required to present a purchase offer in Egypt is 51%. The transfer of ownership of companies becomes implemented on the Egyptian Exchange over a period of five days, beginning on the day the offer period ends.
The average closing price of NSGB shares reached EGP 38.21 over the last six months, beginning on the date when purchase offers were first accepted by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) on 7 August 2012, until the offer period ended on 6 February 2013.
The average closing rate of NSGB shares beginning 30 August 30 2012, the day the EGX released its official disclosure of the deal, reached EGP 29.43.
Companies JP Morgan Limited and QNB Capital served as financial advisors for implementation of the deal, while Beltone Financial served as its broker.
QNB is 50%-owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund spearheading Qatar’s international acquisitions lately, including stakes in Barclays, Volkswagen and Harrods.
