First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) withdrew its offer for a stake in Egyptian Financial Group (EFG) Hermes Holding, the largest investment bank in Egypt and the region.
According to a statement published on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s website, FAB, UAE’s largest bank, said that its decision to back out is due to the ongoing instability in global markets and economies.
It stressed that the Egyptian market will remain strategically important for FAB.
The bank also confirmed that it will continue to support its customers and employees.
Moreover, it said it will continue investing in developing its well-established partnerships and operations in Egypt.
As a result, EFG-Hermes shares plunged in the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX)’s trading debut. Also, trading was halted for 15 minutes. As trading resumed, EFG shares slumped with accumulated losses of nearly 20 percent.
In February, the Egyptian financial supervisory authority (EFSA) announced that FAB made a non-binding offer to buy at least 51 percent of EFG Hermes.
In a statement at the time, EFSA said FAB submitted a non-binding offer for a potential cash acquisition of a majority stake in EFG Hermes.
The deal was based on a 19-pound initial share price for “Hermes,” with a total value of around 1.2 billion dollars.
