Actis to Invest US$244 Million in Egypt’s Commercial International Bank to Become Largest Single Shareholder

CAIRO - Actis, an emerging markets private equity specialist, is pleased to announce today that it has executed an agreement to invest US$244 million to acquire shares in Commercial International Bank, the leading bank in Egypt. Actis is acquiring 50% of the stake held by the consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings. The transaction makes Actis the largest single investor in CIB.

Commenting on the transaction, Actis Senior Partner Paul Fletcher said, “Actis is committed to the financial services sector as one of our core investment strategies within emerging markets where Egypt stands out for its excellent growth potential. Within Egypt, CIB is the market leading bank, perfectly positioned to achieve significant growth by extending its services into the retail banking sector. We hold the management team in high regard and are delighted that CIB has become an anchor investment for our Actis Emerging Markets 3 fund. CIB is committed to a high standard of governance and corporate ethics that sits perfectly with Actis’s own stringent investment practices.”

CIB is well-placed to build on its 35-year track record in commercial banking and its powerful brand to expand further into the retail sector. The country’s 76 million inhabitants and its burgeoning middle class of consumers are creating a strong demand for modern personal finance and savings products.

Timothy C. Collins, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ripplewood, commented, “We are extremely proud of our relationship with CIB and with its board, management and employees. We have long believed that CIB and the Egyptian banking sector have not been fully appreciated by investors in mature markets and therefore offers an exceptional investment opportunity. The investment by Actis, a recognized leader in emerging markets investing with a successful track record in financial institutions, supports this view. This transaction allows CIB to add a new partner who shares our strategic vision and brings complementary strengths to the Bank.”

Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, Chairman of CIB, commented, “Over the past three years, in partnership with Ripplewood, we have made significant progress in strengthening our systems, processes and managerial expertise. We are now ready to take the business to the next level and we welcome Actis as an active partner and board member. With its 60-year legacy of investing in emerging markets, its deep experience in scaling financial institutions in other high growth markets, particularly in retail, and its network of emerging markets contacts, we believe Actis will be an extremely valuable partner as we accelerate our growth in consumer banking.”

Actis seeks to identify attractive opportunities in Egypt by using its local base on the ground, together with its specialist global Financial Services team to find the best overall environments for investment. Egypt has a resilient, growing economy and a strong regulatory banking environment. By enforcing rigorously conservative policies, Egyptian banks have performed strongly, despite the turmoil in global banking markets, making Egypt one of the most attractive banking environments in the world.

Notes to Editors:

Actis will acquire 27,301,122 Global Depositary Receipts at a price of US$8.9326 each (equivalent to EGP 50 per ordinary share). The GDRs represent 27,301,122 ordinary shares being 9.33% of the issued share capital of CIB. Actis will buy 50% of a stake held by a syndicate of investors led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

About Actis

Actis is a leading private equity investor in emerging markets with a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America, with US$4.8billion funds under management. Actis has over 100 investment professionals on the ground in 9 offices worldwide.

In Africa, Actis is a longstanding, experienced private equity investor with a 60 year legacy of investing throughout the continent and today has almost US$2.0 billion funds under management in 12 African countries. It has 30 investment professionals dedicated to Africa in five offices in Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and London.

Actis announced the closure of its global emerging markets fund, Actis Emerging Markets 3 (AEM3) on 1 December 2008 with commitments totalling US$2.9 billion. In 2009, Actis was awarded African Private Equity Firm of the Year 2008 by Private Equity International magazine for the second consecutive year.

About CIB

Headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, the Commercial International Bank was established in 1975 as a joint venture between the National Bank of Egypt and the Chase Manhattan Bank under its original name ‘Chase National Bank of Egypt’. Following Chase’s divestment of its equity stake in 1987, the Bank changed its name to Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E.

CIB is the number one private sector bank in the country, with total assets of EGP 62 billion (USD 11 billion).

It is the highest-rated Egyptian bank by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, capped only by the sovereign ceiling for Egypt set at BB+. CIB has an extensive retail banking network in Egypt with 155 well-located branches and 492 ATMs.

CIB takes tremendous pride in the quality and integrity of its employees, its strong corporate culture and values, and its leading position in the Egyptian banking sector. The bank remains committed to providing its customers the best financial products and services, which will enable CIB to maximize shareholder value.

Source: Actis

For further information please contact: Actis Egypt please contact, Maha Saad, Blue Ocean PR, T +20-2-2267-5440, M +20-12-319-2140, maha.saad at blueoceanpr.com; Actis HQ Press Office, Narda Shirley, T +44-207-234-5111, M +44-7770-888318, narda at gongcommunications.com; Jane Dillon, T +44-207-935-5822, M +44-7790-395591, jane at gongcommunications.com