CIB Starts Due Diligence on Citigroup’s Egypt Retail Business

ommercial International Bank Egypt SAE, the country’s biggest publicly traded lender, began due diligence on Citigroup Inc.’s local consumer-banking business ahead of a potential acquisition.

Negotiations are still in the preliminary stages, the Cairo-based bank said in a filing with the Egyptian bourse on Wednesday.

“We view the potential for value accretion as high,” Yehia Saleh, an analyst at Pharos Holding, said in e-mailed comments. “CIB management has been aiming to expand its retail operations to venture into this high-margin business.”