M&A WATCH- Apparently nobody wants NBG’s Egypt unit anymore: The National Bank of Greece (NBG) has not received any new offers for the acquisition of its Egypt unit after negotiations with Lebanon’s Bank Audi fell through, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Gamal Negm told Masrawy on the sidelines of the Nile Pioneers Initiative on Wednesday. Negm did not indicate what the future holds for NBG’s Egypt unit now that the acquisition process has come to a halt.

Background: Bank Audi had agreed to acquire NBG's unit in Egypt in May last year and was in the process of obtaining CBE approval and closing the transaction despite a dispute between NBG and its employees dragging the negotiations. Earlier this year, Bank Audi itself decided to exit the Egyptian market and received an offer from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) last month to sell its Egypt arm, which is currently engaged in a due diligence process that will coin a decision by 2Q2020.