Amethis, SPE Capital team up with EBRD for Egypt buyout; Ezdehar exits
A consortium of African private equity firms Amethis and SPE Capital and a common Limited Partner (LP), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said Tuesday they have acquired a majority stake in Egyptian non-banking financial services company GlobalCorp for Financial Services S.A.E.
This comes three months after The Capital Quest first reported that the three were in the process of buying GlobalCorp. The consortium did not share details but The Capital Quest has learnt that they picked up as much as a 95% stake in GlobalCorp.
Established in 2015, GlobalCorp offers leasing and factoring services to corporate houses and small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). Its leased assets include production lines, equipment and machinery, vehicles and commercial or industrial real estate while the factoring product portfolio covers a range of short-term financing solutions.
The firm had previously raised private equity funding from Egyptian PE firm Ezdehar. In February 2018, Ezdehar said it had picked up a 60% stake in the company along with other investors. These were SANAD Fund (a development fund backed by KfW, BMZ and the EU) and GlobalCorp CEO Hatem Samir.
For a peak into how much returns Ezdehar is likely to be pocketing, click here.
Since its inception, GlobalCorp has extended EGP13 billion ($715 million) in credit over more than 800 leasing and factoring contracts spanning more than 30 industries. More than 25% of its portfolio serves SMEs and green financing. Founded and led by Hatem Samir, the company also arranged Egypt’s first and largest factoring syndication and completed its first securitization at the end of last year.
The investment in GlobalCorp will include a primary capital investment to scale up the company’s portfolio and expand into new business segments. The consortium will also partner with GlobalCorp’s management on scaling up the company’s infrastructure and operations, investing in technology and advancing the company’s impact agenda.
“This is the first investment of Amethis in Egypt, which is now a core market for our funds,” said Adnane Zerhouni, investment director at Amethis.
Heike Harmgart, the EBRD’s managing director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, said that it is the EBRD’s first equity investment in a financial institution in Egypt.
For SPE Capital, this is the second investment in Egypt through the maiden PE fund that completed fundraise a year ago. It had backed Future Pharmaceutical Industries in the country three years ago.
The consortium was advised by Helmy, Hamza and Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, on legal matters. PricewaterhouseCoopers was the financial advisor, and IBIS Consulting was the ESG and impact advisor.
Kamco Investment Company was the exclusive financial advisor while Matouk Bassiouny Business Law Office was the legal advisor to the sellers.
