Qalaa’s business unit Gozour divests two businesses in Sudan, Egypt

Qalaa Holdings announced Tuesday that RIS – a business unit of its agrifoods subsidiary Gozour- has sold its business in Sudan for US$4.3 million.

RIS signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for the sale of its two Halawa and Biscuits plants in Sudan to a Sudanese investor at an enterprise value of US$ 4.3 million. Qalaa Holdings currently has an effective ownership of 55% in RIS.

Furthermore, Gozour has signed another SPA for the sale of Misr October for Food Industries (El-Misrieen), an Egyptian manufacturer of cheese products, to a domestic industrial investor at an enterprise value of 50 million Egyptian pounds. The acquirer will assume all debt, liabilities and obligations of El-Misrieen, including bank debt of c. 16.5 million pounds. Qalaa had previously fully written-down the value of its investment in El-Misrieen, which ceased operations in 2012.

Qalaa Holdings continues to divest non-core investments across its footprint as it focuses on core business units including Egyptian Refining Company (a US$ 3.7 billion megaproject that is nearing the 75% completion mark and is on track to begin production in 2017) and TAQA Arabia (Egypt’s leading independent energy distribution company).

The company also remains watchful for opportunities to create new shareholder value through the acquisition of additional stakes in core subsidiaries and to engage in share buybacks for so long as Qalaa shares trade at a steep discount to their fair value.

Pharos Holding was sell-side advisor for the El-Misrieen transaction.