Profit Boon Makes Egypt’s Banks Ripe for M&A. But Who’s Selling? - Bloomberg

Profit Boon Makes Egypt’s Banks Ripe for M&A. But Who’s Selling? - Bloomberg:

A profit bonanza for Egyptian banks is ripening the industry for acquisitions. If only there were more willing sellers.

One buyer found a way in. First Abu Dhabi Bank PSJC is in talks for the Cairo-based unit of Lebanon’s Bank Audi SAL, which needs cash to cope with an economic crisis back home. The bid is the first for an Egyptian bank by a Gulf lender in seven years, as companies seek new markets because of lower oil prices and rising geopolitical tensions.

Egyptian banks “have excessively strong balance sheets, they have very strong amounts of cash,” said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Naeem Brokerage in Cairo. “It’s more of a question of who’s willing to sell than who’s willing to buy. They’re rarely up for sale.”

The nation’s central bank is no longer issuing licenses, making an acquisition the only way of gaining a foothold in the Middle East’s fastest growing economy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.