Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Financial Group Hermes Holding (EFG Hermes) and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) announced obtaining the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) approval to conduct due diligence process on the Arab Investment Bank (aiBANK).

The process will be conducted with the aim of acquiring 76% of the bank’s capital “mostly through a capital increase as well as potentially through the acquisition of some secondary shares from the National Investment Bank, the current majority shareholder,” EFG Hermes said in a bourse disclosure on Wednesday.

If the deal is completed, EFG Hermes will own 51% of the bank, while the Soverign Fund of Egypt will own not less than 25%. The National Investment Bank and the Federation of Arab States will keep the remaining stake.

It is worth mentioning that in the first quarter of 2020, EFG Hermes achieved net profits of EGP 98.92 million, down from EGP 380 million in the year-ago period.