Sawiris’ attempts to acquire Shalateen Mining in doubt as talks halted

M&A WATCH- Sawiris’ attempts to acquire Shalateen Mining in doubt as talks stop: Naguib Sawiris’ talks with the government to acquire 51% of state-owned Shalateen Mining have been suspended, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Reuters without giving further detail. The La Mancha chairman said in February he was eyeing the majority stake in Shalateen, but the company’s discovery of a 1 mn-ounce gold reserve in the Eastern Desert last month appears to have thrown the sale off course. The Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority holds 35% of Shalateen, while the Defense Ministry’s National Service Products Organization holds 34%, the National Investment Bank has 24%, and the Egyptian Company for Mineral Resources owns 7%.