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Our first SPAC wants to gold-plate its portfolio. Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) is vying for up to 100% of EIH Consulting, a precious metals investment and consulting firm, and its subsidiaries, it said in a bourse filing (pdf). The EGX-listed SPAC — the country’s first of its kind — secured initial BoD approval to acquire a controlling stake (50% +1) in EIH and its subsidiaries.
The move would mark CPME’s third M&A following its twin acquisition of Qardyand Catalyst Partners via an EGP 2.8 bn share-swap last year. Three months later, the SPAC made it onto the EGX trading floor, closing up 20% to EGP 12 per share on day one. CEO Maged Shawky told EnterpriseAM last May that the vehicle — which has an authorized capital of EGP 14 bn — is eyeing a total of six to 10 acquisitions.
The transaction sits somewhere between the EGX and the physical metals market: Bringing in mobile gold and silver app Mngm — a precious metals platform developed by EIH Consulting — pulls CPME beyond SME lending and into retail savings and commodities, which makes sense in a market where gold is the default hedge.
The transaction brings together two heavyweights of local capital markets. CPME is led by Maged Shawky and EIH Consulting by Sameh El Torgoman, both former EGX bosses.
This appears to be a play on retail savings amid macro volatility. The move leans into a bigger shift with gold starting to behave more like a financial product than a store of value here at home as a war-clouded regional macro picture gets murkier.
What’s next? CPME tapped Gravition Financial Advisory to run a fair value study, with the final structure of the transaction — money, share-swap, or a mix of both — still under negotiation.
MARKET REAX- CPME’s stock closed flat at EGP 21.72 yesterday, marking its third consecutive session at that price (which is normal for a SPAC). The flatline reflects a market anchored by the cashin-trust, with investors waiting on the fair value report to reprice the stock.
