Bank Audi Paid 244 Million Egyptian Pounds for Arabeya, Naaem Holding Says

Egyptian investment bank Naeem Holding and investor Hisham Tawfik last month sold the Internet- based broker Arabeya Online to Bank Audi SAL-Audi Saradar Group, for 244 million Egyptian pounds ($43 million), Naeem said today.

Arabeya, Egypt’s first online trading platform, was 20 percent-owned by Tawfik, its founder and chief executive officer, and 80 percent-owned by Naeem. Tawfik retained a 10 percent stake in the company, Naeem’s investor relations manager Ahmed Riyad said in a telephone interview. A spokeswoman for Bank Audi declined to comment.

Audi didn’t disclose a price when it announced the acquisition July 29. Arabeya Online was ranked the 10th most active brokerage in Egypt by value in the second quarter, executing 3.3 billion pounds in trades over the period, according to Egyptian Exchange figures.

Naeem shares fell 2.1 percent to 46 cents at the 1:30 p.m. close in Cairo, valuing the company at $147.2 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed A Namatalla in Cairo at anamatalla@bloomberg.net

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