Actis, an emerging markets private equity firm, has executed an agreement to invest $244 million to acquire shares in Egypt-based Commercial International Bank (CIB). Actis is acquiring 50% of the stake held by the consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings.
Despite the turmoil in global banking markets, Egyptian banking sector and CIB in particular are well-placed, making Egypt one of the most attractive banking environments in the world. Actis seeks to identify attractive opportunities in Egypt by using its local base on the ground, together with its specialist global Financial Services team to find suitable environments for investment.
Commenting on the transaction, Paul Fletcher, Senior Partner of Actis, said: “Within Egypt, CIB is the market leading bank, perfectly positioned to achieve significant growth by extending its services into the retail banking sector. We hold the management team in high regard and are delighted that CIB has become an anchor investment for our Actis Emerging Markets 3 fund. CIB is committed to a high standard of governance and corporate ethics that sits perfectly with Actis’s own stringent investment practices.”
Actis is a private equity investor in emerging markets with a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with $4.8 billion funds under management.
