Pioneers Holding, a leading Egyptian brokerage, on Sunday said it would buy Beltone Financial, the Cairo-based regional investment bank, in an all-share deal that will create one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East.

Pioneers, which has an extensive network in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said it would issue 100m new shares to represent the as yet unannounced value of Beltone. The current shareholders of the investment bank will own a 17 per cent stake in the merged company.