The company announced that it has been qualified for the second stage of Wataniya's tender among other investors and was invited to start the due diligence.

The financing means of the deal hasn't been determined, TAQA said. A document by the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center  (IDSC) revealed that TAQA is to pay part of the deal's value in US dollars.

The government restructured Wataniya Petroleum, a company owned by the Egyptian Army's National Service Projects Organization (NSPO). A new entity was created and 174 of Wataniya's 300 fuel plants were transferred to it.

The government is considering four non-binding purchase offers, out of eight, and due diligence was made.

Final contracts are to be signed in October or November 2023. The deal will be fully paid in US dollars.

TAQA Arabia, a Cairo-based Qalaa Holdings subsidiary, serves over 1.7 million customers in 50 Egyptian cities with energy and utility services, including natural gas, electricity, renewable energy, petroleum products, and water.

It builds, runs, and upkeeps energy infrastructure, including gas transmission and distribution, in eight Egyptian governorates.

The company was listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in June and trading on its shares started on 9 July.

On 25 July, the NSPO acquired a 20 percent stake in TAQA Arabia for EGP 1.63 billion ($52.75 million).

Egypt seeks to accelerate a programme to offer stakes in 35 state-owned companies operating in 19 sectors to strategic investors under a $3 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The country seeks to finalize the first and second reviews of the programme in the coming months to receive new tranches of the loan and improve investor sentiment.