Emaar Misr, a subsidiary of the Dubai property giant, plans to buy land in Egypt after an IPO on the stock exchange in Cairo, the company said on Wednesday.
An initial public offering could raise as much as $370 million, in what is likely to be the biggest share sale in Egypt this year, Bloomberg reported.
In a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its parent company is listed, Emaar Misr announced its intention to proceed with an offering on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
The intention is to offer shares to both retail investors in Egypt and institutional investors “in a number of countries, including in Egypt”, it said.
“Emaar Misr plans to use the net proceeds raised from the offering, together with its existing cash resources, principally to further the development of the non-residential areas of its projects under development, including primarily Emaar Square in Uptown Cairo project, the planned international marina and hotels in Marassi project, and Downtown area in Mivida project (comprising both retail and office space),” it said.
Its intention to buy land would mark the first such acquisitions since the uprising in 2011, Bloomberg reported.
“The company also intends to use a part of the net proceeds from the offering to fund pre-launch expenditures and costs in relation to the development of Cairo Gate, as well as selectively growing its land bank through the potential acquisition of select land plots that match the investment criteria of Emaar Misr,” the company said in a statement.
“Emaar Properties will retain its current holdings in Emaar Misr, which is expected to represent a minimum of approximately 87% of Emaar Misr’s total post-offer share capital.”
Emaar Misr “is currently in the process of finalizing the required corporate approvals” over the IPO, the statement added.