Pioneers tops Lactalis offer for Egypt cheese maker Arab Dairy

Cairo-based financial firm Pioneers Holding upped its offer for Egypt’s Arab Dairy to LE64.30 per share on Sunday, beating rival Lactalis’ bid by 2.06 percent.

Pioneers, which owns a 16.73 percent stake in the Egyptian cheese maker, is seeking to acquire another 60.19 percent of the company, for a total of LE232 million ($30.4 million), according to a statement by Arab Dairy on the stock exchange.

The bidding war is the latest sign that Egypt’s bourse, which hit its highest level in over 6 years last week, is witnessing a revival after years of political turmoil following the country’s 2011 uprising against former autocrat Hosni Mubarak slowed market activity.