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Sunday, 2 January 2022

Ghazl El Mahalla FC hits the EGX next month + SFE makes progress on stake sale plans

Ghazl El Mahalla FC shares are set to begin trading on the EGX in February, the Public Enterprises Ministry said in a statement (pdf). The EGP 37 mn institutional component of the football club’s offering wrapped last Tuesday, according to the statement. The EGP 98 mn public offering to individual retail investors is still pending sign-off from the club’s general assembly, which is set to meet “soon,” the statement says.

Refresher: Ghazl El Mahalla is offering a 67.5% stake in its IPO, which is expected to raise EGP 135 mn. The transaction will mark the first time a football club is publicly traded in the Arab world, and could pave the way for more IPOs of this sort — football giant Al Ahly has also expressed interest in offering as much as 49% of the club.

Advisors: Prime Holding is acting as bookrunner on the offering.

ALSO ON THE PRIVATIZATION FRONT- Could we soon see concrete steps towards the sale of stakes in the Siemens power plants + military companies? High-level talks on the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) plans to sell stakes in the three Siemens-built power plants and a handful of military-affiliated companies took place last week. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, Planning Minister Hala El Said, SFE CEO Ayman Soliman, National Service Projects Authority (NSPO) Deputy Director Major Gen. Khaled Farouk, and other officials took part in the discussions last week, cabinet said in a statement, without providing further information.

BACKGROUND: The SFE in 2019 said it could acquire a 30% stake in the three combined-cycle power plants, while the remaining 70% would be sold to one or more private sector investors. The fund could in the future offer a stake in the plants on the EGX or an international bourse, as a way to stimulate FDI inflows, Soliman said at the time.

On the military-owned companies front: The SFE is also looking at 10 firms owned by the NSPO with a view to bringing in strategic investors ahead of potential IPOs at a later date. Bottled water brand Safi was gearing up to sell a minority stake to a strategic investor last year, while Wataniya Petroleum was expected to sell a major stake to an investor in 2H2021. Both companies had earned plenty of investor interest.

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