EKH’s Emisal Salts acquisition bid stalls on lackluster tender offer

M&A WATCH- EKH’s bid to acquire a majority stake in Emisal Salts looks stalled: Egypt Kuwait Holding’s (EKH) acquisition of a majority stake in state-owned Emisal Salts appears stalled after shareholders pledged stock that in aggregate fell short of EKH’s target, EKH said in an EGX disclosure (pdf). No further details were provided, and it’s unclear if the tender offer has now been called off.

Background: The investment firm reportedly reached an agreement in July with majority shareholder National Bank of Egypt and the Chemical Industries Holding Company (CIHC), which owns 13.1% of Emisal, to acquire a 52.8% stake in the company. EKH submitted the tender offer back in February. It was facing competition from a consortium made up of Kuwait’s Al Madar Finance and Investment and the Saudi-Egyptian Industrial Investment (SEII), which bid EGP 700 mn for the company back in June.