Abu Dhabi wealth fund completes $1.8 bln acquisition of 5 Egyptian companies

Doaa A.Moneim , Tuesday 12 Apr 2022

The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), also known as the Abu Dhabi wealth fund, has completed acquisition deals for five companies in Egypt, including private sector and state-owned firms, with a total value of $1.8 billion, the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) disclosed on Tuesday.

Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ)

The deals were made under the block trading transaction, which is a high-volume transaction that allows the broker dealers to purchase shares for several institutional clients to fill the full size of the acquisition deal.

The announcement comes a few days after the ADQ announced its intention to invest up to $2 billion in the Egyptian market by purchasing state-owned stakes in a number of companies.

According to EGX data, ADQ acquired 340,096,235 shares of the International Commercial Banks (CIB) with a total value of about $911.4 million.

Moreover, the Fund acquired 215,124,316 shares of e-payment platform Fawry with a total value of $68.5 million, as well as obtaining the subscription rights for 201,603,746 shares of the company with a value of $54.8 million.

For the state-owned companies, ADQ acquired 476,721,088 shares of Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company (ALCN.CA) with a total value of $168 million.

In addition, the Fund acquired 45,823,446 shares of Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) with a total value of $266.5 million, as well as 271,573,655 shares of Abu Qir Fertilizers (ABUK.CA) for $391.9 million.

In 2019, ADQ created a joint investment fund with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) worth $20 billion with a mission of helping advance Egypt’s economic development through joint strategic investment projects, specialised funds and investment tools in key sectors; mainly healthcare and pharma, utilities, food and agriculture, real estate and financial services.

In December 2021, the Fund opened its office in Egypt “to build on its commitment to investing in the country’s economic growth”, according to ADQ.

In 2021, the Fund sealed several acquisition deals that reflect its significant appetite to tap the investment opportunities Egypt has.

The Emirati consortium Aldar and ADQ acquired in December a majority stake in the Egyptian real-estate development company SODIC in a deal worth EGP 6.1 billion ($386.8 million).

Moreover, the Fund acquired the Egyptian Amoun Pharmaceutical Industries from the Canadian Bausch Health company, in a deal worth about $ 740 million.

Food and beverages company Agthia, which is an ADQ company, acquired a majority stake (75 percent) in Egyptian meat processor Ismailia Investments (known as Atyab).