Ebtikar pushing forward with IPO of e-payment units
Ebtikar is on the road to IPO as spin-out begins: Ebtikar has transferred the shares of Tamweel Holding to a new parent company as part of a plan to spinoff activities not related to e-payments ahead of an upcoming IPO, Ebtikar owners B Investments and MM Group said in filings to the EGX (here and here — pdf). Ebtikar, a financial services firm that runs e-payments platforms Bee and Masary, also received regulatory approval to transfer another arm, microfinance provider Vitas Egypt, to Basata, the holding company it recently set up to separate its non-banking financial services businesses from e-payments.
When will Ebtikar IPO? Look for a transaction some time in 2H2021, B Investments IR Director Omar El Labban told us earlier this month. The split comes as Ebtikar is looking to capitalize on growing investor appetite for digital payments companies.
FACT CHECK- Be wary of news that the IPO of Taaleem Management Services could be worth EGP 4.5-5 bn — a story that was first reported in Al Mal. A valuation for the transaction has yet to be set, sources close to the transaction tell us. The education outfit, which owns and operates Nahda University, is expected to be the first company to list on the EGX when it goes to market some time in 1Q2021.
Corrected on 14 February 2021
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Ebtikar is planning to debut on the EGX in the first half of 2021. The company plans to make the move in 2H2022.