Supporting the Islamists: Bill Gates And Other U.S. Investors Buy $1 Billion Stake In Egyptian Construction Firm

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bill-gatesAmerica’s richest man, Bill Gates is part of a group of international investors acquiring a stake in OCI NV, an Egyptian construction and fertilizer company.

On Friday, OCI N.V, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orascom Construction Industries SAE (OCI) controlled by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, announced that it has raised $2 billion in commitments from international investors, including $1 billion from three U.S. groups: Cascade Investment, L.L.C – the private investment vehicle of Bill Gates; Southeastern Asset Management and Davis Selected Advisers.

OCI N.V has launched a share exchange offer which will see the company acquiring all of Orascom Construction Industries’ Regulation S Global depositary receipts (GDRs) in exchange for shares in OCI N.V. The deal also includes a mandatory tender offer whereby holders of OCI GDRs will have the option of either exchanging their shares with an identical amount of OCI NV shares or selling their shares to OCI NV at the price of 280 Egyptian pounds ($43) per OCI share in compliance with Egyptian regulations. The capital injection from Bill Gates’ holding company and other investors is primarily expected to provide OCI NV with the funds required to pay shareholders who elect to tender their OCI ordinary shares for cash.

The Sawiris family and Abraaj Capital, which together own 60 percent of Orascom, are also participating in the tender and have submitted all their OCI GDRs to exchange for OCI N.V shares.

This is arguably the first time Bill Gates’ Cascade Investments is investing a sizable amount in an African company. Analysts expect the deal to boost international investor confidence in Egypt’s main benchmark index.

Nassef Sawiris, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OCI, commenting on the transaction said, “This transaction is proof of the existing international appetite to invest in Egypt and bodes well for the Egyptian economy with more than US$ 1 billion committed by US investors.”

Orascom Construction Industries, SAE is Egypt’s largest publicly traded company and has an approximate market value of over $9 billion.

Source: FORBES.COM

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Brilliant! What do fertilizer and construction have in common? After they make bombs from the fertilizer they rebuild with their construction company! Genius!

  2. As if there weren’t enough resaon to hate BP for trashing the Gulf, BP has apparently been supporting Egyptian dictator Mubarak as well. … What kind of logic is that? What possible connection is there between hating BP for the Gulf oil spill — assuming that you have been gulled by the media propaganda into believing the absurd claim that the Gulf oil spill was the greatest environmental catastrophe in the history of the world — and BP’s alleged support for the Egyptian President?And as for:The environmental and social justice group also said Hesham Mekawi, the BP Egypt chairman, has praised “the stability of the country” and claimed BP had allowed the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo – of which it is a member – to put pressure on US Congress not to support a recent motion calling on Mubarak to hold fair elections and respect human rights.”You seem to imply that: (1) BP should be praising instability in Egypt — not something most Egyptians would appreciate, surely?and (2) BP should be encouraging the US Congress to meddle in Egypt’s internal affairs — hardly something to enhance shareholder value.

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