M&A WATCH- Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH) subsidiary International Financial Investments Company (IFIC) has reportedly withdrawn its bid to acquire National Company for Maize Products (NCMP), Al Mal reports. Sources said IFIC did not finish the due diligence process because of the bureaucracy and the length of time associated with the transaction. The EKH affiliate first submitted its bid for NCMP in May. IFIC’s withdrawal now leaves only a unit of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Cairo Three A Group as the remaining bidders. Al Mal says the third bidder, Louis Dreyfus’s local affiliate Al Mona Misr, had withdrawn “two months ago.” The news also comes following last month’s report that ADM representatives were unhappy with the delay in the transaction and have held a meeting with Investment Minister Sahar Nasr in hopes of expediting the process. Pharos Holding is sell-side advisor to Misr Capital Investment (owner of the NCMP stake on offer), while EFG Hermes is advising ADM, and CI Capital is advising Cairo Three A Group.

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