Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquires 34% stake in Egypt’s B.TECH

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF) has acquired a 34 percent stake in Egypt-based consumer electronics and household appliances retailer B.TECH for an undisclosed sum, a statement by the Egyptian company read on Monday.

PIF’s wholly-owned Egypt arm, Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC), is acquiring a significant minority stake from African Development Partners II, a fund advised by Development Partners International (DPI), a premier investment firm targeting Africa’s high-growth, impact-driven, and innovation-led companies.

The tie-up with PIF will “accelerate [B.TECH’s] innovative growth strategy, its digitization efforts, while scaling new business verticals and existing core operations,” the statement said.

Founded in 1997, B.TECH has grown into one of Egypt’s largest and fastest growing e-commerce players and the country’s omnichannel retailing platform.

Arqaam Capital and EFG Hermes were the M&A advisors for the transaction whilst PWC acted as the financial advisor. White & Case and Akin Gump acted as international legal advisors, and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy and Zulficar and Partners as local legal advisors.