Egypt’s financial regulator – the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) announced on Thursday that it has rejected the joint venture agreement between EFG-Hermes and Qatar’s QInvest LLC due to the limited expertise of QInvest that has not undertaken any activities since inception.
EFSA stated that the bidder – QInvest does not have sufficient expertise to own the units of EFG-Hermes Holding (HRHO.CA).
EFSA further confirmed that, out of its regulatory role of maintaining safety and stability of non-banking capital markets and protecting their dealers, and in light of the limited expertise of the bidding company that has not undertaken any activities since inception, it decided that the bidder does not have sufficient expertise to own the units of EFG-Hermes Holding; one of Egypt’s biggest investment banks.
Long-Awaited Hermes-QInvest Deal Terminated:
On Wednesday afternoon, EFG Hermes and QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment bank, announced that the long-stop date for the satisfaction of the conditions precedent for their joint venture agreement to proceed had been reached without receiving the necessary regulatory approvals from Egypt’s financial regulator – the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA). As a result of the long stop date being reached, the joint venture agreement will automatically terminate.
The parties received the necessary financial services regulatory approvals in all other markets in which the joint venture was initially to operate including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, among others. EFG Hermes and QInvest co-operated fully with all regulators, met all of their requirements and exercised the utmost diligence in addressing any regulatory requests in a timely and comprehensive manner.
