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Tuesday, 21 June 2022

KSA’s Alhokair family agrees to acquire 4.99% of valU

valU welcomes new minority Saudi owners: The Alhokair family looks set to acquire a 4.99% stake in EFG Hermes’ buy-now-pay-later platform valU, according to a statement (pdf) out yesterday. Brothers Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair, Salman Abdulaziz Alhokair, and Abdul Majeed Abdulaziz Alhokair have agreed to acquire the stake through a USD 12.4 mn capital increase, valuing the company at USD 247.4 mn, according to the statement.

You buy my stake, and I’ll buy yours: The agreement comes just a few weeks after the buy-now-pay-later platform agreed to purchase a 35% stake in new Saudi consumer finance player Fas Finance, which is partly owned by Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Company (Alhokair). The SAR 19.3 mn (EGP 95.75 mn) transaction will give valU access to the Saudi market for the first time. The company purchased the stake from Fas Labs, a 50/50 joint venture between Alhokair and mall developer Arabian Centres Company (ACC), which is also part-owned by the family.

Nothing is set in stone just yet: The capital increase is pending regulatory approvals and the fulfillment of certain undisclosed conditions.

What they said: “The transaction … is a testament to valU’s visible success story, business model, and potential for growth in Egypt and on a regional level,” said Karim Awad, Group CEO of EFG Hermes.

It might not be long until Amazon is a valU shareholder: Amazon agreed to purchase USD 10 mn worth of EFG’s London-listed GDRs with an option to convert them into a 4.255% equity stake in valU should a third-party investor purchase shares in the company, or if valU is sold, IPOed, or otherwise listed.

The story also got a mention from Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 1:48).

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