M&A-

SEIC to conduct due diligence on CIRA: CIRA Education’s board approved the proposal submitted by the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) — a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund — to acquire 75-100% of the company through CIRA’s majority shareholder Social Impact Capital (SIC), allowing them to conduct due diligence, the company said in an EGXdisclosure(pdf).

Remember: SEIC said last week that it will buy into SIC, the vehicle through which the founding El Kalla family holds a controlling stake in EGX-listed CIRA Education. SIC will use the cash injection to launch a mandatory tender offer to buy CIRA shares at a price of EGP 14 each to up its stake in the company to 75-100%.

ADVISORS- Baker Tilly will act as the transition’s financial advisor and prepare a fair value study for CIRA’s shares. Rothschild & Co is advising PIF, with Allen & Overy and our friends at Matouk Bassiouny doing legal duties. Our friends at EFG Hermes are advising El Kalla family, while White & Case is legal counsel.

REAL ESTATE-

Units at TMG’s debut project in Saudi Arabia are going for sale tomorrow: The Saudi arm of Talaat Moustafa Group will start selling off units in its mixed-use Benan City project tomorrow, TMG said in a statement (pdf). The project’s soft launch, targeting a select clientele, kicked off on Saturday.

Benan City? The smart city is being developed in eastern Riyadh’s Al Fursan in partnership with the Saudi National Housing Company. The SAR 65 bn city will house nearly 27k residential units and it marks the Egyptian real estate giant’s first overseas project.

MANUFACTURING-

Cleopatra Group plans to kick off operations at its new USD 50 mn ceramics factory in June, founder and board chairman Mohamed Abou El Enein told Asharq Business. The factory will operate six ceramic production lines and aims to export 50% of its output, Abou El Enein added.

And in tourism: Cleopatra has invested USD 25 mn in a 450-room hotel in the North Coast’s Sidi Heneish that will open “within ten days,” Abou El Enein said, adding that the company is “currently working to expand [its] investments in the media sector.”

Remember: In November last year, Abou El Enein said that Cleopatra Group was looking to invest some EGP 120 bn into its tourism, real estate, and ceramics subsidiaries.

STARTUPS-

A precious metals investment platform: Local fintech startup Bokra has partnered with gold investment firm Dahab Masr to launch the platform Bokra Dahab, which will allow users in Egypt, UAE, and KSA to invest in precious metals, according to a joint statement (pdf).

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