LVP Pharma becomes Rameda’s largest shareholder with 23.2% share

LVP Pharma becomes Rameda’s largest shareholder with 23.2% share

LVP Pharma nearly doubled its holding in pharma giant Rameda in a single transaction, increasing its ownership to 23.2% from 12.0%, according to a bourse filing (pdf). The firm acquired 223 mn shares — of which 220 mn belonged to Equinox Pharma Holding, according to a separate filing (pdf) — at an average price of roughly EGP 5.1 apiece in a transaction valued at EGP 1.1 bn.

LVP is now the company’s largest shareholder, with this transaction marking the latest in a flurry of sizable share purchases by the company in the last few weeks.

What’s next for Rameda? “We remain actively engaged in evaluating value-accretive [prospects], whether through strategic molecule acquisitions or broader corporate transactions, as we continue to capitalize on the sector’s compelling growth dynamics,” COO & CFO Mahmoud Fayek tells us.

The local pharma sector continues to attract strong interest from both local and international investors, he said, adding that this is “supported by its inherently defensive nature, favorable demographics, and sustained demand growth.”

EU Commission earmarks EUR 8 mn for Egypt in wartime relief

The European Commission will channel EUR 8 mn in “multi-sectoral assistance to the most vulnerable,” the commission said in a statement. The statement highlights educating children not enrolled in schools and a region-wide disaster preparedness program as targets of the fund.

The tranche is part of a wider EUR 458 mn package for the region, with Syria (EUR 210 mn), Palestine (EUR 124 mn), and Lebanon (EUR 100 mn) receiving the vast bulk of the funding. By no coincidence, Egypt and Jordan (EUR 15.5 mn), which received much smaller tranches, are the only two countries on the list not currently being attacked, occupied, or invaded by Israel.

No sugar imports until May

Import ban on sugar extended: The Investment Ministry has extended the import ban on refined sugar until 30 April, according to a ministerial decree seen by EnterpriseAM. The move builds on a protectionist policy introduced last November aimed at regulating the local market in light of significant domestic stockpiles.

Why this matters: The decision aims to protect local factories from “high financial costs” caused by stockpiles accumulating as they struggle to compete with cheaper imports, former head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ Sugar Division Hassan El Fendi tells us. The local market currently retains a massive 1.3 mn ton surplus, which is enough to cover domestic consumption for around 10 months, he added.

What’s next? Any further extension of the ban will depend entirely on crop estimates for the current season, El Fendi says. The ministry faces a balancing act in protecting local factories while making sure sugar prices do not exacerbate inflationary pressures coinciding with the Ramadan consumption peak.

Private firms to run desalination across North Coast, Sinai, and the Red Sea

We could be in for a slew of PPPs on the desalination front, with the Housing Ministry pushing to tender the operation and maintenance of several large-scale seawater desalination plants to the Egyptian private sector, according to a statement from the ministry. The move targets plants with a daily production capacity exceeding 10k cbm in the North Coast’s Matrouh, Al Dabaa, and El Alamein, in addition to Sinai’s El Tor, Ras Sidr, Nuweiba, Dahab, Abu Zenima, Sharm El Sheikh, and Arish, and the Red Sea’s Hurghada.