Egypt property developer Misr Italia seeks to raise 1.5 bln pounds in IPO

Egyptian real estate developer Misr Italia Group hopes to raise about 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($82.5 million) from a share sale on the country’s stock exchange that is expected to take place by May.

The Cairo-based company plans to sell 20 percent to 25 percent of its shares, according to co-Chief Executive Officer Mohamed El Assal, and has hired Beltone Financial as the initial public offering (IPO) manager. The roadshow for the sale is planned to take place in April in Persian Gulf countries.

“We will use the proceeds to complete some ongoing projects as well as new ones,” El Assal said in an interview in Cairo. “We see a lot of opportunities for co-development projects with the government in the future.”

Egypt’s bourse expects the biggest number of IPOs this year since 1998 with a value that will be the highest in the country’s history after last year’s currency float. The government expects to raise about 6 billion pounds from IPOs of state-run entities in the coming fiscal year that starts in July. It has listed Banque Du Caire SAE to kick off its share sale programme.

Source: Bloomberg