Egypt Begins First IPO Since 2021 in IMF-Backed Sale of Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Egypt started selling a stake of as much as $104 million in United Bank, the country’s first initial public offering in three years as it presses ahead with a privatization program being encouraged by the International Monetary Fund.

United Bank, almost entirely owned by Egypt’s central bank, is selling 330 million shares — a 30% stake — at a maximum of 15.6 pounds per share, according to a statement on the stock exchange website on Wednesday. That’s slightly lower than the top end of 16.5 pounds announced the day before.

The first tranche of 313.5 million shares will be offered as a private placement running through Nov. 25. The final 5% of the shares will be sold to the wider public from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3.

Selling part of United Bank — a goal of Egyptian authorities for almost a decade — signals fresh movement in the country’s much-watched pledge to curb the role of the state in the economy. It comes as the IMF discusses Egypt’s progress in enacting an expanded $8 billion reform program, in a periodic review that may unlock a $1.3 billion loan tranche.

Mired in economic crisis in early 2023, Egypt’s government announced an initial list of more than two dozen assets it planned to offer to investors, in sectors ranging from banking to energy and real estate.

Progress, however, has been slow. Even after authorities let the pound weaken almost 40% in March — helping Egypt secure a wave of funding pledges as part of a global $57 billion bailout — there hadn’t been a significant asset sale until now.

Egyptian authorities previously held discussions with Saudi Arabia over its potential purchase of United Bank. Negotiations stalled in early 2023 amid a disagreement over how to value the transaction.

The government is also seeking to sell its remaining 20% stake in another lender, Alex Bank, to Intesa Sanpaolo SpA.

(Updates with new pricing, details on asset-sale plans.)

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