Bill Gates buys $1bn stake in Orascom
Investment is one the largest foreign currency inflows into Egypt since revolution
Bill Gates and other US investors will invest $1bn in Orascom Construction Industries.
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Bill Gates, along with a group of US based investors, will commit $1bn to buy a stake in Orascom Construction Industries, the Egyptian construction and fertiliser company, it was announced on Saturday.
The investment is one of the largest foreign currency inflows into Egypt since the 2011 revolution, a Reuters report said. The transaction also consists of an offer to acquire all of OCI’s ordinary shares in exchange for OCI NV shares or a cash amount of $42.41 per share, a 4% premium to Thursday’s closing price, the report added.
OCI will absorb all local stock and global depository receipts of Orascom Construction Industries under a share exchange offer that has attracted more than $2bn in commitments, the company said in a Bloomberg report.
This includes $1bn from US investors, comprising of Cascade Investments, which is wholly owned by Bill Gates, as well as Southeastern Asset Management and Davis Selected Advisers.
“This transaction is proof of the existing international appetite to invest in Egypt and bodes well for the Egyptian economy, with more than $1bn committed by US investors,” said Nassef Sawiris, CEO of OCI, in a statement.
With the company due to relocate its operations to Amsterdam from Cairo, it will start trading on the NYSE Euronext from January 25. It plans to launch an American Depository Receipts programme on the New York Stock Exchange, the company added.
