Actis, an emerging markets private equity player, has executed an agreement to invest $244 million to acquire shares in Commercial International Bank (CIB) in Egypt. Actis is acquiring 50% of the stake held by the consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings.
By enforcing conservative policies, Egyptian banks have performed well, despite the turmoil in global banking markets. As a result, Actis seeks to identify attractive opportunities in Egypt by using its local base on the ground, together with its 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.”
Timothy Collins, founder and CEO of Ripplewood, commented: We have long believed that CIB and the Egyptian banking sector have not been fully appreciated by investors in mature markets and therefore offers an exceptional investment opportunity. The investment by Actis, a recognized leader in emerging markets investing with a successful track record in financial institutions, supports this view.
Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, chairman of CIB, said: With its 60-year legacy of investing in emerging markets, its deep experience in scaling financial institutions in other high growth markets, particularly in retail, and its network of emerging markets contacts, we believe Actis will be an extremely valuable partner as we accelerate our growth in consumer banking.
