The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has received an official offer by Chimera Investments to acquire up to 90% of Beltone Financial, the regulator said in a disclosure to the EGX (pdf) yesterday. The Abu Dhabi-based investment firm has offered to purchase up to 417.1 mn shares in the financial services company for EGP 1.485 a piece in a mandatory tender offer, the regulator said, valuing the company at around EGP 690 mn by our math. Chimera will need to acquire a minimum 51% stake in Beltone for the offer — which will trigger an MTO — to go through, the statement reads.

Is WM Consultancy out of the picture? This comes a week after Chimera first lodged its interest in acquiring Beltone with a bid that offered a 10% premium on the offer made by WM Consultancy a week earlier. The consultancy — helmed by a former Beltone exec and representing an unidentified consortium of investors — had offered to purchase the shares for EGP 1.35 apiece. The financial services firm initially gave WM the go-ahead to start due diligence but asked the FRA to halt the process after receiving Chimera’s rival bid.

The regulator is mulling it over: The FRA is currently studying Chimera’s offer, it said yesterday.