Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) completed its acquisition of 98.5 per cent of Piraeus Bank Egypt (PBE) on 10 November.

It paid Greece’s Piraeus Bank $150m.

This represents 1.5 times PBE’s stated tangible book value as of 31 March.

PBE’s assets were £E8.6bn ($1.1bn) at the end of 2014, and its net profit for the year was £E19m. It mainly works with retail clients and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

Piraeus Bank Egypt will be renamed ABK Egypt, subject to regulatory approval.

“Egypt is a core market for us, building on the long-standing business relationship that already exists between our two countries,” said Talal Mohammed Reda Behbehani, chairman of ABK, in a press release. “We look forward to developing and growing our business in the Egyptian market.”

ABK hopes the deal will make it a regional player and diversify its business.

The US’ JP Morgan was ABK’s financial adviser on the transaction. The UK’s EY acted as transaction and tax adviser and Egypt’s Zulficar & Partners acted as legal adviser.