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Wednesday, 1 September 2021

Ergo buys 49% stake in studio behind Souad, Paranormal

State-owned media investment firm Ergo Media Ventures will acquire a 49% stake in TV and film production company Film Clinic, it said in an emailed statement (pdf) yesterday. The firm will invest a total of USD 5 mn in Film Clinic, a source with knowledge of the transaction told Enterprise, explaining that it will pay USD 1.8 mn for the equity stake. The balance of the USD 5 mn transaction value is finance for new projects.

Who owns what? The transaction is Ergo’s first since it was established in 2018 by Ayady Investment and Development, an investment company owned by state and quasi-state institutions including the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the Arab Investment Bank. The NIB’s investment arm, NI Capital, manages Ergo.

Film Clinic is a production company established in 2005 by veteran Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy. It has been behind some of the most high-profile cinematic hits to come out of Egypt in recent years, including international critical successes Souad, 200 Meters, and Yomeddine. On the small screen, the company was the producer of Netflix’s first Egyptian production, Paranormal, a well-received adaptation of Ahmed Khalid Tawfik’s beloved supernatural thriller novels.

Advisers: PwC was financial advisor to Ergo, while Rizkana & Partners and Al Jallaf were legal counsel. Jurisera was legal counsel to Film Clinic.

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