Actis LLP and Edra Power Holdings have revived their interests in buying the Beni Suef natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant, in a deal that may be worth about $2bn, Bloomberg reported.
In 2019, the British direct investment company Actis officially submitted a letter of intent to acquire one of the three Egyptian power stations implemented by the German company Siemens in cooperation with Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, intending at that time to acquire a stake greater than 51%.
Sources told Bloomberg that the two companies plan to bid for the largest possible share of the plant.
The Beni Suef power station has a total capacity of 14.4 gigawatts, and was inaugurated in mid-2018.
Sources told Daily News Egypt that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt intends to keep about 30% stake of the station, while Actis and Edra aim to acquire more than 51%. Both companies are in the process of sending a new letter of intent that includes the acquisition offer.
The sources added that 85% of the cost of the station, which amounts to about €2bn, was financed through loans, and that the bulk of the sale’s proceeds will be directed to repaying those loans.
Last February, the Egyptian government put forward an IPO programme that includes 32 companies that are scheduled to be sold by the end of the first quarter of next year, including the Beni Suef power plant.
The Egyptian government is racing against time to provide dollar proceeds from the sale of assets, in addition to complying with the conditions of the International Monetary Fund to increase the role of the private sector in the Egyptian economy.
