The guys who brought you Speed Medical are now getting into the finance industry
Aton Holding has acquired Pharos Asset Management and its Pharos Fund I private equity back in mid-January for an undisclosed amount, Mostafa Attia, managing director of Pharos Asset Management and a founder at Aton, tells Enterprise. The transaction marks the first for Aton, which plans to raise Pharos Fund I's assets under management (AUM) to EGP 500 mn in one year before hitting EGP 2 bn in 2022. He added that Aton has already added over EGP 100 mn to the asset management firm's portfolio following the acquisition.
Aton appears to have acquired the last business unit that remained in possession of Pharos Holdings following the sale of Pharos Investment Banking and Pharos Securities to National Bank of Egypt-owned Al Ahly Capital back in late 2019, Attia tells us.
In the pipeline for Aton: In the next five years, the company aims to be an integrated investment bank that covers a variety of traditional investment banking services such as asset management, and taking companies public — particularly on the Nilex.
On the private equity side, the company is also eyeing establishing two private equity funds with a target AUM of EGP 1 bn by 2022. It also wants to raise its stakes in companies operating in the tourism, tech services, and healthcare fields. It also wants to establish a new EGP 20 mn luxury goods import business.
The firm is also seeking an expansion into non-banking financial services, with plans to have a microfinance, and financial leasing arms.
Who is Aton? The management of the firm, which was set up four months ago, includes Attia, Prime Speed for Medical Services Chairman Tamer Wagih as well as Hisham Ghoneim, a shareholder of Speed Medical, yet the final hierarchy has yet to be established, Attia tells us.
ALSO, IN THE WORLD OF M&As- Sawiris-backed Endeavour Mining has completed the acquisition of Teranga Gold last week, creating one of West Africa’s largest 10 gold producers with an annual output of 1.5 mn ounces, according to a company statement. The acquisition was completed through a USD 1.86 bn share swap agreement, Endeavor had said back in November.