Al Ahli gets Egypt regulatory nod to buy Piraeus unit

Dubai: Kuwait’s Al Ahli Bank received approval from the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) to acquire a controlling stake in Piraeus Bank’s Egypt unit, it said on Thursday.

Al Ahli, Kuwait’s seventh largest bank by assets, plans to pay $150 million (Dh550 million) in cash for a 98.5 per cent shareholding in the Greek lender’s Egyptian unit.

The EFSA approved the deal on August 19, the lender said. Al Ahli has also obtained regulatory approvals from the Egyptian and Kuwaiti central banks.