M&A WATCH- Americana minority shareholders turn down Adeptio's offer price: Minority shareholders in the Egyptian International Tourism Projects Company (Americana) have rejected Adeptio's mandatory tender offer (MTO), which offered to buy Americana’s shares at EGP 3.9 apiece, according to Al Mal. The offer price is much lower than the EGP 24 / share range the minority shareholders previously asked for. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said earlier this week it is looking into the fair value report with Adeptio’s financial advisor after receiving the original bid last week.

Background: Adeptio acquired 67% in Kuwait Food Company (Americana) in June 2016 following a two-year process, giving it indirect ownership of the majority of Americana Egypt. The FRA then ordered Adeptio to submit an MTO to buy the remaining shares in Americana Egypt earlier this year and cover the 9.563% of Americana that Adeptio didn’t already own, but Adeptio had argued that its indirect ownership in the company is less than 90% of its total capital and therefore does not require an MTO submission. Adeptio submitted an appeal against the order, which the FRA promptly rejected. The company then filed a suit with an economic court challenging the FRA’s rejection, but the court also dismissed the appeal. A 15-day grace period was set for Adeptio to submit the MTO after Adeptio had requested a 30-day extension on the initial deadline that expired on 21 October on the grounds that it has yet to complete its fair share evaluation on Americana, which the FRA approved.