Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest lender, has agreed to buy a 95.2 per cent stake in BNP Paribas' Egyptian arm from the French bank in a deal which values the entire business at $500 million.

ENBD, part-owned by the Dubai government, will make an offer to minority shareholders for the remaining 4.8 per cent stake, the Dubai bank said in a statement on Thursday.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2013, pending regulatory approval.

The BNP Paribas deal would be ENBD's first major expansion of its regional presence through an acquisition since it was created in a state-backed merger between Emirates Bank International and National Bank of Dubai in 2007.

The bank is looking for acquisitions in fast-developing African markets to satisfy investor demand for growth it is unlikely to deliver at home, chief executive Rick Pudner said in an interview with Reuters last month.