Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial said on Sunday plans for a merger with Pioneers Holding had been scrapped after the two sides failed to agree on a future strategy for the merged entity.

Under the plan for the acquisition of Beltone by Pioneers in an all-share deal, Pioneers was to issue 100 million new shares for Beltone. Beltone's owners would have had 17 percent of the new firm, while the Beltone CEO was to head the combined firm.

Based on the Pioneers share closing price on June 30, the last day it traded, that would have valued Beltone at 351 million Egyptian pounds ($61.6 million), about half the deal's value when it was first announced last year.

Beltone's head of investor relations, Osama Rashad, told Reuters the deal fell through due to 'lack of agreement on future strategy for the new entity'. Another Beltone official also said the merger had been stopped.

Beltone specialises in investment banking, while Pioneers has a wide retail distribution network with smaller research and investment banking operations. The merger was initially expected to complete around the end of 2009.-Reuters