Regional PE firm AfricInvest set to acquire small stake in Masria Cards

M&A WATCH- Regional PE firm AfricInvest set to acquire small stake in Masria Cards: Private equity firm AfricInvest is reportedly close to acquiring a minority stake in smart card supplier Masria Cards, Al Mal reports, citing sources close to the matter. The newspaper didn’t specify the size of the stake eyed by the Tunisia-based investment outfit and suggested that EFG Hermes is acting as sell-side financial advisor. According to Al Mal, this will be AfricInvest’s second investment in the country after recently acquiring a stake in Carbon Holdings. Masria Cards, meanwhile, was a Nilex-listed company until it decided to voluntarily delist its shares in 2015. When it last made a bourse filing in that year, it had EGP 10.8 mn in capital and c.EGP 10.5 mn in half-yearly earnings.