United Bank set to raise EGP 4.6 bn in EGX share offering: United Bank is set to raise some EGP 4.6 bn from its 30% stake sale on the EGX after the private placement saw the bank’s final share price set at EGP 13.85, according to an EGX bulletin (pdf). The final share price is in the mid-range of the EGP 12.70-15.60 range set by the lender and values the bank at EGP 15.2 bn by our math.

High demand: The bank’s private placement — which included 313.5 mn of the 330 mn shares on offer — concluded on Monday, with the offering 6x oversubscribed.

Retail investors still have the chance to get a piece of the lender in the offering’s retail placement which kicked off yesterday and will run until 3 December. Retail investors will be able to pick up 5% of the offered up shares — totalling 16.5 mn shares — in the bank.

The bank has been in the government’s privatization crosshairs since at least 2017: The CBE — which owns 99.9% of the bank — first announced its plan to sell the bank in 2017, but the Covid pandemic put the plans on ice. United Bank was also listed in the lineup of state companies and assets earmarked for privatization in the rebooted privatization program unveiled in February 2023.

This is the second IPO of the year, after Act Financial offered a 32% stake on EGX in July and became the first company to conduct a full IPO in the Egyptian bourse since 2022.

Advisors: CI Capital is the sole global coordinator and bookrunner for the offering, while Helmy, Hamza & Partners — Baker McKenzie’s Cairo office — has been appointed as counsel. Baker Tilly is independent financial advisor and Ernst & Young (EY) is auditor.

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