Galina could revive its IPO plans: Agrifood player Galina Holding could go ahead with a public share sale on the EGX this year, Chairman Abdel Wahed Soliman told Enterprise, confirming a report that first appeared in Al Mal. The company is aiming to raise at least EGP 500 mn from a private placement and is currently in talks with institutional investors. If the company does conclude a transaction, it will move ahead with a public offering towards the end of 3Q, he said.

In detail: The private placement would be carried out via capital increase, which would see Galina issue 150 mn new shares, equivalent to a 50% stake in the company, Soliman told us. An internal financial advisor has valued the company’s shares at EGP 5 apiece. It has now appointed Perfect Consulting to conduct a fair value study.

Who’s interested? An international bank and a Gulf bank are interested in acquiring 30% of the company’s shares in the private placement, Soliman told Al Mal, adding that talks are still in their early stages and no official offers have yet been made.

A similar plan on a slightly smaller scale: This time last year, Galina was hoping to raise EGP 600 mn in a private placement ahead of an EGX listing, telling us that at least 10 foreign and local institutional players were interested in investing in the company. Soliman said at the time that the company would issue 161 mn new shares, and that subscription could be wrapped up by the end of 1H2021.

But what happened? Disagreements over valuation, Soliman told Al Mal.

Advisors yet to be appointed: Galina hasn’t yet appointed a financial or legal advisor to help it with the transaction, he told us. The company hired Renaissance Capital to quarterback the transaction last year, and was eyeing Baker McKenzie’s Cairo office to provide counsel.

Galina has been eyeing the EGX for a long time, first announcing its ambition to become a public company back in 2018.