A billion dollar pharmaceutical deal in the Middle East has been jeopardised by anti-government protests in the region.
A private equity consortium that includes Citigroup hoped to sell its 93% stake in Egyptian drug maker Amoun Pharmaceutical for $1bn.
Foreign investors flocked to Egypt late last year but have grown cautious in light of the anti-government protests, which started in Tunisia and spread to Egypt.
Sarah Alexander of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association told the New York Times that deals are being put on hold, but not necessarily abandoned.
“There is a wait-and-see attitude, as even pricing is difficult to judge at the moment,” Alexander added.
Other transactions between private equity firms are being put on hold in the region.
