Netherlands-based RMBV looks to establish SPAC in Egypt

Good morning, friends, and a happy Eid El Adha in advance. It’s an issue of partnerships, placements, and policy reads as we wrap our last issue before the long holiday.

On deck this morning, we spoke to three sources who tell us KPMG is weighing a restructuring of its Egypt operations. The move would effectively end the firm’s 41-year partnership with local affiliate Hazem Hassan, and the partnership won’t dissolve lightly.

Meanwhile, Korra Energi's private placement closed 5.7x covered yesterday, Prime Holding's Yasser Shahin tells us. The retail tranche ran hot at 10.6x oversubscribed with one session left.

And we go behind the scenes of the CBE’s recent NBFI tightening, speaking to analysts and insiders who see the move as a macroeconomic tool.

** A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM will be joining the rest of you in taking time off for Eid El Adha. We will be back in your inboxes next Monday morning at the same time.

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WISH THIS MORNING’S ISSUE was a podcast? We’ve got you. Tap or click here to listen to Morning Drive, a 10-minute version of today’s issue crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, or while stomping around the house wondering where the [redacted] you left your [redacted] reading glasses.

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One more SPAC

Netherlands-based private equity firm RMBV is looking to establish a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) here at home, submitting a request to the Financial Regulatory Authority for an EGX listing later this year, the Arabic press reports. While the target fund size has not been finalized, the blank-check vehicle plans to acquire firms across the consumer goods, industrial, education, and financial services sectors.

Building on a developed footprint: The new SPAC expands RMBV’s already extensive North African portfolio, which includes stakes in EGX-listed Taaleem and Cleopatra Hospitals Group, alongside Tunisia’s Lilas and Algeria’s Cipro. The firm recently deployed its North Africa Fund III to fully acquire grocery retailer Spinneys Egypt for roughly EGP 2.5 bn.

Egypt’s blank-check market is slowly taking shape. RMBV’s move follows the listing of impact investor Catalyst Partners Middle East, which became the country’s first active SPAC after hitting the trading floor following its temporary listing in late 2024. More recently, OG Capital For Investments secured a temporary main-market listing with an initial issued capital of EGP 10 mn. Check out what SPACs are and how they work in our explainer.

A tight-knit strategy

Oriental Weavers (OW) wants a bigger slice of its core subsidiaries to maximize return on equity, it said in a bourse filing (pdf). The carpet manufacturing giant is exploring several options to execute the transaction, primarily through share swaps. The targeted export-focused subsidiaries include Oriental Weavers International (where OW currently holds a 99.99% stake), the Egyptian Fibers Company (88.12%), Oriental Weavers USA (82.68%), Oriental Weavers Textiles (71.44%), and Mac Carpet (58.29%).

Why it matters: The group already has 65% exposure to USD-denominated revenues, according to the company’s latest earnings release. By increasing its ownership in high-performing subsidiaries — without consuming banknotes or by monetizing underutilized assets — the company could further boost its USD inflows and boost return on equity.

Advisors: Oriental Weavers authorized EFG Hermes to study the alternatives and plans to appoint an independent financial advisor to determine fair values, alongside a legal advisor and a tax advisor.

ALSO- The company’s board signed off on an EGP 350 mn land purchase from Mac Carpet, in a transaction that covers a 32.7k sqm plot of land and its buildings in the 10th of Ramadan City’s industrial zone and represents 4.4% of Oriental Weavers’ total equity. The board also approved an asset disposal program worth EGP 700 mn — representing 8.8% of the company’s equity — to liquidate nonproductive residential, commercial, and industrial real estate assets across the country, according to a separate filing (pdf).

Securing the harvest

The government has procured 4 mn metric tons of local wheat since the mid-April harvest began, putting it on track to hit its 5 mn ton target before mid-August, Reuters reports, citing Ahmed Adam, head of the directorates, cooperatives, and training sector at the Agriculture Ministry. The strong intake — currently outpacing last year by 600k tons — was driven by offering EGP 2.5k per ardeb, up from last year’s average prices of EGP 2.3k, with a commitment to pay farmers within 48 hours of any contract closing.

BUT- Despite the record local yield, the country still faces a projected 12.5 mn-ton import gap this year. To structurally reduce this reliance, the government is pushing forward with the New Delta project to add 2.2 mn feddans of arable land, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s remarks on Saturday.

Looming global threats: While this year’s harvest is secure, the near-total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off up to 45% of theglobal seaborne fertilizer trade. Surging nitrogen prices threaten to severely reduce future global wheat yields, potentially forcing Egypt to bridge its supply gap in a much tighter, more expensive international market next season.

PSA

WEATHER- It’s another mild day in Cairo today, with a high of 31°C and a low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s chillier in Alexandria, with a high of 25°C and a low of 25°C.

And over the holiday, expect to see moderate days in the capital (with a high of 30-32°C) and more springy conditions for our friends on the Mediterranean, with a high of 24-27°C.

The big story abroad

Despite news of an incoming US-Iran truce, borrowing costs are expected to stay high amid high levels of US borrowing, the whopping debts incurred by the AI boom, and a return to monetary tightening. Even if the conflict resolves soon — and the inflation caused by costly oil prices subsides — there is reason to believe the recent spike in long-term yields will not fully abate.

Speaking of which: President Donald Trump ordered negotiators not to rush into an agreement with Iran, emphasizing that the US naval blockade will “remain in full force” until such a pact is reached. Media affiliated with the Iranian regime has reported that Washington is still obstructing aspects of a potential resolution.

Meanwhile, in outer space: China dispatched the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission yesterday, conveying three astronauts to its space station in efforts to better understand the physiological effects of prolonged periods in space. Beijing has set its sights on a crewed moon landing by 2030.

ALSO- Is ‘Gen Z’ a misnomer? Financial Times Business Columnist Pilita Clark suggests that our understanding of the so-called Gen Z demographic may be far from the reality. She relies on research, books, and articles to make her case and advise employers not to perpetuate misleading stereotypes about younger people, indicating that older demographics often exhibit similar problems, concerns, and behaviors.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We are unpacking a new OECD report that highlights the stark disconnect between Egypt’s booming academic research output and a private sector that is failing to commercialize it.