M&A WATCH- Bahrain’s Arab Banking Corporation (Bank ABC) will wrap up due diligence on Blom Bank Egypt in mid-November, ahead of a potential offer to acquire the Lebanese bank’s Egypt assets, Masrawy reports, citing banking sources. Blom has reportedly nudged Bank ABC to complete the process and present an offer as soon as possible, the sources say. Bank ABC showed interest earlier this month after announcing it had entered early-stage talks. Blom confirmed in August it is looking to sell its Egypt assets as its home country suffers its worst economic crisis in decades. The sale could wrap up as soon as next month, familiar sources recently said.

Bank ABC isn’t alone in the running: The bank is competing with fellow GCC lender Emirates NBD, which wrapped up its due diligence this month. Sources previously said that Emirate NBD has valued Blom Egypt at EGP 6.5-7 bn, around 1.5x the bank’s total shareholder equity. An unnamed non-banking financial services firm is also considering submitting an offer for the bank, unnamed sources said last month.

Advisors: Blom has hired CI Capital to advise on the sale, while HSBC is providing financial advice to Bank ABC.