French bank Societe Generale said Wednesday it had sold its 77-per cent stake in Egyptian unit National Societe Generale Bank to Qatar's QNB bank for $1.97 billion (1.5 billion euros).

"At the closing of the transaction, the (Societe Generale) Group will book a net gain of around 350 million (euros)," the bank said in a statement.

It said the price doubled the stated book value of NSGB as of September 30.

Societe Generale said it will sell its stake to QNB Group by tendering its shares in a mandatory tender offer that QNB Group will launch after receiving regulatory approval.

The price of the share offer values NSGB at $2.6 billion, with Societe Generale to receive nearly $1.98 billion.

QNB Group will also buy Societe Generale's stakes in some NSGB subsidiaries, taking the French bank's total consideration to $2 billion.

Societe Generale said it expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2013, and that it would increase its Basel III pro-forma Core Tier 1 ratio by 30 basis points.

Founded in 1978, NSGB is one of the largest private banks operating in Egypt, serving more than 700,000 clients through 160 branches.

NSGB, which employs 4,161 people, had 63.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($10.3 billion, 7.9 billion euros) in assets at the end of September.

QNB Group, which has in recent years sought to expand its presence across the Middle East, had slightly over 96 billion euros in assets at the end of September.