OCI aims to raise $241m from construction arm share sale

OCI, the Netherlands-based conglomerate majority-owned by the Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, said it may raise up to US$241 million in a share sale of its construction business on the Cairo bourse as it separates its fertiliser and building divisions.

The sale comes as the Sawiris family increases investments in Egypt after distancing themselves from the country following the 2011 street protests which led to the removal of the president Hosni Mubarak and left the economy in tatters.

The price range for OCI’s offering of between 10 and 15 per cent of Orascom Construction will range between US$13.33 and $15.23, with the final Egyptian pound price to be determined by the prevailing exchange rate at the time of the offering.

Up to 15.8 million shares will be offered to institutional and retail investors.

A spokesman for OCI said that the company was leaning more towards selling 10 per cent rather than 15 per cent.

OCI is seeking to separate its fertiliser business from its engineering and construction business to attract more investors and streamline management.

It will also be listing shares of Orascom Construction on Nasdaq Dubai. It is expected that the shares will start trading in Egypt and in Dubai between March 9 and March 11.

The investment banks EFG Hermes, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, HSBC, CI Capital and Rabobank are managing the sale.

The move to list in Egypt follows an about-turn for the company that moved most of its shares from the Egyptian exchange to Amsterdam in the aftermath of the 2011 upheaval.

mkassem@thenational.ae

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