FinMin is hiring for the Alexbank transaction:The Finance Ministry has invited local and international banks to pitch for an advisory role on the sale of its 20% stake in Bank of Alexandria (Alexbank), Reuters reports quoting two sources it says are close to the matter.

REFRESHER- Finance Minister Mohamed Maait in March said the state was considering offloading its 20% stake in Alexbank, adding it to a long list of state-owned assets that the government is looking to sell as part of its privatization program. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo — which has been the majority shareholder of Alexbank since 2006 when it purchased 80% of its shares from the government for USD 1.6 bn— has been in talks with the government to purchase its remaining stake and become the bank’s sole shareholder, a government source told Enterprise in February. The EGX also earmarked Alexbank for a potential offering at the start of the year.

There may still be a legal hurdle to clear: Sources told Reuters in February that an Egyptian court would need to rule on a long-standing legal challenge against the original stake sale to Intesa before a takeover could go through.

The Alexbank sale could help get the ball rolling for other state-owned lenders: The Madbouly government is also looking to exit its stakes in Banque du Caire, Arab African International Bank, and United Bank. Officials have indicated that they prefer strategic partners to come onboard before potentially offering the three banks on the public market. CI Capital and Barclays, the financial advisors on the United Bank sale, are reportedly lining up a promotional roadshowfor the transaction that will target Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, after talks with Saudi wealth fund PIF were said to have stalledover a disagreement on valuation.

Remember: The Madbouly government wants to sell USD 2 bn of assets before the end of this month. It has so far raised some USD 153 mn by selling off Pachin and a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt.

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