Heikal ... both units have established themselves as
critical players in the vital Upper Egyptian market
ASEC Cement to sell stakes in two units
CAIRO, November 1, 2015
ASEC Cement, a subsidiary of Egypt-based Qalaa Holdings, plans to sell its stakes in two of its units to Misr Cement (Qena) for EGP1 billion ($124.5 million).
The respective stakes are 46.5 percent in ASEC Minya; and 55 percent in ASEC Ready Mix, said a statement from the company.
The deal should close on or before November 20, it said.
Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in infrastructure and industry, and its subsidiary National Development and Trading Company (NDT) own 70 per cent of ASEC Cement, it added
ASEC Minya Cement is an Egyptian cement producer located in Upper Egypt which commenced commercial operations in August 2013 with a name plate capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per annum.
Meanwhile, ASEC Ready Mix is a producer and distributor of ready mix concrete, the company operates 6 batch plants in Upper Egypt with production in FY14 reaching 382 thousand cubic meters.
In addition to the Qalaa sale proceeds, the sale of ASEC Minya and Ready-mix will help accelerate the delivery of Qalaa’s strategy, with a key element being deleveraging at the holding and platform company levels — a total of EGP940 million ($117.03 million) in debt will be deconsolidated at the ASEC Cement consolidated level owing to the transaction, said the statement.
Qalaa reiterates its commitment to its FY15 strategy, with its key elements being deleveraging at the holding and platform company levels; acquisition of additional stakes in key platform companies; selective investments within existing platform companies; and share buybacks so long as these trade at a significant discount to their fair market value, it said.
Qalaa Holdings retained CI Capital Investment Banking as financial advisor and Arab Legal Consultants (ALC) as legal advisors, it added.
Ahmed Heikal, founder and chairman, Qalaa Holdings, said: “Both ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix have established themselves as critical players in the vital Upper Egyptian market thanks to the exceptional dedication and hard work of its management team.”
“While we are happy to have built both companies, this exit allows us to achieve our objectives in an expedient way,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service
