Al Ahly Sabbour to tap advisor for planned IPO by June: Local real estate developer Al Ahly Sabbour plans to select an advisor for its planned IPO by June, Chairman Ahmed Sabbour said during a press conference attended by EnterpriseAM yesterday. The company is considering one of four potential investment banks for the role.

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Remember: The developer is looking to list some 20-25% of its shares on the EGX — initial plans saw the company tapping an advisor early this year and wrapping up the needed listing requirements by March.

And we have a timeline … kind of. After selecting the advisor, the developer will need up to 10 months to fulfil the listing requirements, Sabbour said, without providing any details as to when we expect the company to make its EGX debut.

A long time coming: It was reported in October 2017 that the company would list its shares on the bourse within a year.

Who’s selling? The developer’s only shareholders — the Sabbour family and the National Bank of Egypt will offload a combined 25% in the company to new shareholders, Sabbour said, adding this isn’t final. The Sabbour family owns 60% of the developer, while the National Bank of Egypt owns the remaining 40%.

Why go public? The IPO is expected to strengthen the company’s financial position and support its local and regional expansion, which requires capital increases in line with the size of its projects, Sabbour said. The move will also offer more shareholders more flexibility to either increase or decrease their holding in the company. Additionally, as a family-owned business, listing on the EGX would ensure its continuity as management transitions across generations, he explained.

Capital increase incoming: The developer plans to raise its issued and pain-in capital by EGP 250 mn to reach EGP 550 mn by the end of the year, he said. “The planned capital increase has nothing to do with the IPO. The decision to hike the capital was taken a while ago to line up with our local and regional operations,” he said.

What does the company have in store for 2025? Al Ahly Sabbour will invest EGP 10 bn to complete the construction of some of its projects this year, Sabbour said, adding that the company has a sales target of EGP 33 bn for the year.

And more to come: The developer has two new projects in the pipeline — the EGP 10 bn second phase of its Summer Vibes North Coast project, which is expected to bring in EGP 21 bn in sales, and the EGP 2 bn new phase of its AT East project in Mostakbal City, which is expected to bring in sales of EGP 5.5 bn..

And a Saudi partnership in the pipeline: Al Ahly Sabbour is in talks with a Saudi real estate developer to jointly develop two new projects, one in East Cairo and another in Saudi Arabia. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement this year, Sabbour said without naming the Saudi developer.

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