Phase two of Qalaa’s debt buyback program oversubscribed

That’s a wrap on Qalaa’s debt buyback program: Qalaa Holdings’ USD 28 mn debt buyback program attracted EGP 1.7 bn (USD 35.9 mn) in subscription orders from shareholders in its second and final phase, which took place on 9 June, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf).

Oversubscribed: The subscription rate came in at 808%, so the Arab African International Bank — the recipient of requests from shareholders — will give each subscriber the “proportionate amount” between the total raised and the value of the second phase. The surplus will be reimbursed to the brokerage firms.

Qalaa Holdings’s top team is also getting in on the action: Citadel Capital Partners — the vehicle through which the company’s founders and top executives own their equity — subscribed to its full allotted share of the buyback program for USD 6.6 mn, according to an earlier EGX disclosure (pdf).

Remember: The debt buyback program is part of a wider plan to retire some USD 430 mn in foreign-currency debt. The first phase raised some USD 17.5 mn from shareholders.

Want the full picture? We sat down with Qalaa founder and chairman Ahmed Heikal lastmonth to find out more about the debt buyback program.