The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly in advanced talks to buy a private Egyptian company that operates in the waste recycling sector, sources told Daily News Egypt.
The sources, who declined to reveal the name of the company, said that the fund is currently evaluating the deal and expects to finalize it by the end of this year or early next year. They added that the exchange rate fluctuations of the Egyptian pound against the dollar pose a challenge to the valuation process.
The sources also said that this deal is different from the fund’s previous attempts to acquire three other private companies in Egypt, which are active in real estate development, education, and health sectors. Those attempts were suspended after the fund failed to acquire the United Bank from the Egyptian government.
The PIF has been expanding its presence in the Egyptian market since August 2022, when it bought minority stakes in four listed companies on the Egyptian Exchange for a total value of $1.3bn. The companies are EFG Hermes for Financial Investments and Digital Services, Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemical Industries, Egyptian Company for Fertilizer Production (MOPCO), and Alexandria Container Trading.
The fund acquired 25% of EFG Hermes, 20% of Alexandria Container Trading, 19.8% of Abu Qir Fertilizers, and 25% of MOPCO from various government entities, such as the National Investment Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and Gasco Company.
