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By David French and Tom Arnold
DUBAI, July 19 (Reuters) - Barclays has begun aformal process to sell its Egyptian unit, with at least twobanks from the Middle East and North Africa region expressinginterest in the business, sources familiar with the matter saidon Tuesday.
The UK-based lender is offloading its Africa unit as part ofa plan by Chief Executive Jes Staley to simplify its structureand seek higher shareholder returns, although attempts to sellall the assets together have come up against difficultiesincluding the disparate nature of the business.
Banks have now been invited to submit bids for the Egyptbusiness, which are due at the end of August, according to twoof the sources. Sources have previously said Barclays Egypt'sequity value was around $400 million.
Dubai-based Emirates NBD, which bought BNPParibas' Egyptian unit in 2013, is one of the interested partiesand has mandated Perella Weinberg Partners to advise it,according to three sources aware of the matter.
The New York-based investment firm also worked on the BNPParibas Egypt deal with Emirates NBD, which on Monday reported a16 percent jump in second-quarter net profit.
The United Arab Emirates' largest bank by assets was alsoadvised by local brokerage HC Securities and Investment on theBNP deal, and the Egyptian firm was believed to be once againhelping Emirates NBD, according to one of the sources.
Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco's largest bank byassets, is planning to bid too, and has chosen UBS asits adviser, two of the sources said.
The Moroccan lender's general manager, Ismail Douiri, toldReuters in March it was interested in Barclays Egypt, havingbeen keen to expand into the North African country for severalyears. It bid for BNP Paribas' Egyptian business before losingout to Emirates NBD.
Barclays and Emirates NBD declined to comment. Attijariwafadidn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The sourcesspoke on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public.
Other bidders could emerge before the end-August deadline.For example, Atlas Mara, the investment firm run by formerBarclays CEO Bob Diamond, has said it would be interested inbuying all the bank's African assets.
However, the sources indicated Attijariwafa and Emirates NBDwere believed to be the only ones to have got as far asappointing investment banks to advise them.
Barclays has 56 branches and serves around 127,000 customersin Egypt, where it first established a foothold in 1864,according to the bank's website. (Editing by Mark Potter)
