Global Investments Holding Ltd, a company owned by Emirati businessmen Mohamed Alabbar and Abu Bakr Alhussaini, has acquired 30% of Eastern Company, Egypt’s largest cigarette maker, for $625m.
According to the Dubai Financial Center, Global Investments Holding Ltd. is jointly owned by Alhussaini, a young Emirati businessman, and UK Egypt Investments Holding Limited, which is majority-owned by Alhussaini and minority-owned by Alabbar, the head of Emaar Properties, a leading real estate developer.
The acquisition agreement was signed at the Cabinet headquarters on Monday, by Emad Eldeen Mostafa, Executive Managing Director of the Chemical Industries Holding Company, and Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, a representative of Global Investments Holding Ltd.
Sources told Daily News Egypt that $150m of the deal will be used to purchase the necessary tobacco materials for manufacturing, and could be converted into shares after the approval of the company’s general assembly.
Minister of Public Enterprises Sector Mahmoud Esmat said that the deal cost $625m, which is equivalent to EGP 19.4bn. He added that it reflects the government’s determination to expand the ownership base and encourage direct private investment in various sectors.
