It was a busy day for M&A news, with a lot of M&A activity taking place here in Egypt.

MAXAB AND WASOKO ARE NOW ONE-

That’s a wrap on Africa’s largest tech merger: Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB and Kenya-based Wasoko have completed the largest tech merger the continent has ever seen, according to a statement (pdf).

Remember: The two companies inked a preliminary merger agreement in December 2023 and unconfirmed reports said that the merger will create a new entity named Maxoko and will see its annual operations hit USD 500 mn.

Leading the merged entity: MaxAB CEO Belal El Megharbel (LinkedIn) and Wasoko CEO Daniel Yu (LinkedIn) will serve as co-CEOs of the new entity as well as board directors alongside existing investors.

Creating a mega platform: The all-stock transaction establishes a Pan-African platform serving Africa’s USD 600 bn informal retail sector. The new entity will be Africa’s large network of B2B informal retailers, with more than 450k merchants connected to over 65 mn consumers across Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

Future plans: The company’s long term plans include going public on a stock exchange, according to unconfirmed reports out in July.

The international business press also picked up the story: Bloomberg.

DICE WANTS STAKE IN TWIN TOP-

Dice wants a big piece of Twin Top: EGX-listed Dice Sports and Casual Wear is looking to snap up a controlling stake in Twin Top Real Estate Investment Company, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The company has appointed Osoul Arabia for Investment and Financial Consultancy as independent financial advisor to conduct the fair value study of Twin Top, which the disclosure points out owns a textiles mall catering to manufacturers and merchants.

Dice has been doing a lot of acquiring: Earlier this month, Dice increased its stake in United Dyers, acquiring an additional 16.7% stake in the company and pushing its ownership in it to 99.3%. Late last year, the founders of Dice upped their stake in the company to 58.6% in an EGP 436 mn transaction.

ORASCOM DEVELOPMENT EXITS TOURISM SUBSIDIARY-

Orascom Development offloads stake in UAE tourism arm: Orascom Development Holding (ODH) has sold its Emirati subsidiary RAK Tourism Investment to SPV Cove Holdings in a USD 40 mn transaction, two unnamed sources told Asharq Business. ODH and other RAK shareholders are getting some USD 23 mn in cash for their stake in the company and the buyer will assume around USD 18 mn of RAK’s debt. The two sides entered into the binding share purchase agreement earlier this summer. The transaction is expected to close this quarter.

FAISAL ISLAMIC BANK IS ALSO LOOKING TO EXIT STAKES-

Faisal Islamic Bank to exit Giza Paints: Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt will sell its entire 48.57% stake — representing 145.7k shares — in Giza Paints and Chemical Industries in an EGP 32.3 mn transaction, it said in an EGX disclosure (pdf).

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