To sell or not to sell? Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) could respond to the takeover offer from Dubai-based National Paints Holdings (NPH) as soon as early January, unnamed sources reportedly told Al Borsa. The Emirati firm is close to completing due diligence

and financial consultancy firm Elite is still working on the fair value study with the hopes of finalizing it before year end, the sources said.

REMEMBER- NPH launched a takeover bid for Pachin in November, offering to pay EGP 29 per share and valuing the EGX-listed company at EGP 696 mn. PH’s offer was the third offer Pachin received this year, following offers from Universal Building Materials and Chemicals (Sipes) and Saybad Industrial Investment that have since been withdrawn after being outbid by NPH.

Advisors: Al Ahly Pharos is providing financial advice to Pachin while Shalakany Law Office is counsel.

The play for Pachin comes amid the government’s privatization push, which should see it reduce its involvement in or exit certain industries to make way for the private sector. Pachin is currently approximately 54% owned by state-owned companies and banks.

CORRECTION- 25 December, 2022
An earlier version of this story missed that Shalakany Law Office is Pachin’s counsel in the proposed transaction.

MORE CAPRICORN SHAREHOLDERS REVOLT AGAINST NEWMED TIE-UP-

More Capricorn Energy shareholders have joined calls to oust its board, putting the company’s proposed tie-up with Israel’s NewMed at risk. Palliser Capital, the company’s third-largest shareholder, said yesterday that three other shareholders will back its call to force seven of the nine directors to resign — including the long-serving CEO Simon Thomson — at an upcoming board meeting due to the terms of the proposed merger.

Who’s in? Shareholders who collectively hold 39% of the company’s issued share capital are now in revolt against the board, the activist investor said. This includes the UK’s largest asset manager, Legal & General, and Irenic Capital Management, VR Global Partners and a fourth undisclosed shareholder. Legal & General Investment Management, which owns 4% of the energy company, told the Times yesterday that it thinks “a change of directors is now warranted.”

What’s the issue? Shareholders have previously voiced their opposition to the planned merger on the basis that it undervalues Capricorn and that it is “unnecessarily biased towards NewMed.”

What’s next: Palliser plans to convene a shareholder meeting at the end of January for a vote on whether to overthrow the board.

This is the second revolt this year: NewMed had proposed an all-share merger with Capricorn in October after shareholders blocked a previous merger plan with Tullow Oil on grounds that it undervalued the company.

Why do we care? Capricorn has a sizable portfolio of upstream assets in Egypt. The merger would hand the Israeli company (FKA Delek Drilling) control of Capricorn’s Egypt assets, paving the way for closer energy ties between Israel and Egypt.

ASPIRE SUBSIDIARY UPS STAKE IN ELECTRO CABLE-

A subsidiary of Aspire Capital Holding subsidiary (FKA Pioneers Holding) acquired an additional 6.61% stake in EGX-listed electric cables manufacturer Electro Cable for EGP 111.7 mn, bringing its total ownership to 20.09%, according to a disclosure to the bourse (pdf).