Egypt's stocks ended the trading week on the rise after business tycoon Naguib Sawiris offered LE1 billion to acquire the second largest brokerage firm in Egypt from the Commercial International Bank (CIB).
Benchmark index, EGX30, was up 2.79 percent to 6,669 points in a session that saw CIB approval for moving forward on discussions with Sawiris over the potential acquisition, driving the financial services and bank sectors to perform well on Thursday.
"The offer raised the general sentiment as it shows there is activity in the market," Monsef Morsi, sector head financial at CI Capital, told Ahram Online.
Orascom Telecom for Media and Technology (OTMT), owned by Sawiris, submitted a non-binding offer to acquire the CIB investment banking arm of CI Capital Holding, according to a release sent by OTMT to the Egyptian Bourse on Thursday.
The market’s daily turnover for listed securities registered some LE758.7 million. CIB shares gained 4.31 percent to LE35.37 per share while OTMT hit 9.26 percent to close at LE0.59 per share.
The divestment would have little impact on the parent share CIB's earnings of which Ci Capital's contribution is around 1 percent, Morsi said.
The CIB revenue was up 28 percent to LE2.61 billion in the third quarter compared the same period last year, the company said in November.
Last month, OTMT acquired Beltone Financial for LE650 million.
In 2014, Sawiris also offered to acquire EFG Hermes, the largest investment bank in the Middle East, through his New Egypt Investment Fund but the deal never materialised.
