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Monday, 8 February 2021

Beltone, Sarwa will soon have a new corporate parent

Trading of Orascom Investment Holding (OIH) shares on the EGX will be suspended this coming Thursday, 11 February, to allow the company to spin out assets including investment bank Beltone and non-bank financial services player Sarwa Capital into a new entity, Orascom Financial Holding. OIH confirmed the move in a regulatory filing yesterday (pdf). OIH’s global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange will stop trading at the same time.

EGX-listed Orascom Financial will give investors access to some of Egypt’s highest-profile financial services companies, including Sarwa and Beltone, as well as future ventures in the industry, insiders tell us.

OIH will continue to own its Pyramids plateau venture as well as legacy assets including a mobile network in North Korea. OIH will retain investments in some nine subsidiaries and sister companies when all is said and done. OIH first announced the split last July. OIH will remain listed on the EGX with an authorized capital of EGP 2.5 bn, according to a separate filing (pdf).

The demerger is expected to be complete by the end of the month, Onsi Naguib Sawiris — who is set to play a leading role in OFH — told us yesterday.

What’s next? Once the horizontal demerger is complete, OIH will lower its capital and resume trading — after receiving regulatory approval — while the spun-off OFH will see its shares traded separately.

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