EBRD, IFC eye combined 10% stake of Banque du Caire IPO

EBRD, IFC want in on Banque du Caire’s IPO: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are reportedly circling a combined 10% stake in state-owned lender Banque du Caire’s (BdC) upcoming float. The two multilateral lenders are looking to buy into the planned IPO, which Hashem El Sayed, CEO of the State-Owned Companies Unit, says will wrap up in November. The tranche will be covered within a week of launch, he says.

A 50-50 split: An EBRD official confirmed the bank’s interest, saying it plans to “contribute to Banque du Caire’s capital” as a way to draw in more investors and shore up confidence in its balance sheet. EBRD’s own slice could run as high as 5%, the official said, with the IFC expected to pick up the rest of the 10% once it formally joins the transaction.

Not exactly a new courtship: Both the EBRD and IFC were said to have submitted offers for minority stakes in BdC back in March, among a handful of other international financial institutions, a senior government official told us at the time, as the bank kicked off its first round of fair-value meetings. The government was looking at a 30-40% float then, with trading initially penciled in for April-June depending on the final valuation.

While that timeline has clearly slipped, BdC could get back on the road as early as next month. A senior government official tells EnterpriseAM the offering is being revived between September and October, with investment banks confirming a formal restart of BdC’s roadshow — which had already wrapped once before — next month. This falls squarely in line with what El Sayed told us in June, after the banks running the offering reportedly asked for more time to widen the investor pool over the summer lull.

The advisors’ bench is now fuller than we had flagged: EFG Hermes and CI Capital remain bookrunners, but our source adds that Baker McKenzie is advising on regulatory matters and Baker Tilly on financial matters for the BdC leg specifically. All procedures are done, and it is now up to the banks to lock in an actual listing date, the official says.

MEANWHILE- Misr Life Ins., the other state-backed IPO penciled in before year-end, is still working through its own knots. Coverage of the private placement tranche and the pick of one or more strategic investors are both still under discussion, with no resolution yet on either front, the official tells us.

Petro next in line

Enppi will likely be the first oil and gas name to launch an IPO, probably in 1Q 2027, the official adds. Sequencing will come down to each company’s own readiness. Some already have the necessary approvals in hand, while others are waiting on steps like sign-off from the Sinai Development Authority.

What’s the holdup? The process of appointing bookrunners and investment banks follows its own legal and procedural mechanism, one that “can take time,” the official says.

REFRESHER- The government’s push to temporarily list 30 state-owned companies, including 10 petroleum names, on the EGX by end-June has fallen behind schedule. Enppi, Petroleum Marine Services, and Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene Company were temporarily listed on the EGX in late June, clearing the runway for Petrojet and Midor to follow.

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