Three Gulf and Egyptian buyers with a foot in the door finish their acquisitions this week

Three buyers who already had a foot in the door got the rest of the way in this week. ADQ is past 98.50% of AD Ports Group and can now force out whoever didn’t tender, Al Baraka cleared its 51% threshold on AT Lease, and B Investments is buying a holding company rather than shares to reach Madinet Masr. We’ve said the AD Ports delisting isn’t the start of a take-private wave, and one week of cleared thresholds doesn’t change that.

ADQ can now force out AD Ports Group’s remaining minorities. Holders tendered 23.08% of the company into the AED 6.25-a-share offer run by ADQ’s L’imad Holding subsidiary as of close on 15 September, on top of the 75.42% it already held — taking ADQ to 98.50%, comfortably past the squeeze-out threshold, AD Ports said in an ADX disclosure (pdf).

That’s about 94% of what ADQ didn’t already own. The offer covered as much as 24.58% of the company; 23.08% came in, leaving 1.50% outstanding. That answers the freefloat question we flagged — how many minorities would follow IHC-controlled Al Seer Marine, which sold to ADQ at the offer price before the tally closed. Every substantive condition is cleared bar routine notifications to the Securities and Commodities Authority and the ADX. Settlement is due no later than 9 October, the date ADQ locked in last week.

B Investments is buying a holding company rather than shares to get at Madinet Masr. Its board signed off on acquiring 53.5% of Big Investment Group, a related shareholder that owns 20.4% of listed developer Madinet Masr for Housing and Development, according to a bourse filing (pdf). The EGX-listed private equity firm, which already holds 7.66% of Madinet Masr directly, will pay Big’s shareholders in newly issued stock rather than cash. Transaction value, exchange ratio, and timeline weren’t disclosed.

The structure buys control without buying the economics. The deal hands B Investments an indirect look-through interest of another 10.9% — 53.5% of Big multiplied by Big’s 20.4%, by our math — for a combined economic interest of c. 18.6%, while putting Big’s entire 20.4% voting bloc under its control.

Al Baraka Bank’s bid for AT Lease has drawn enough shares to go through. Shareholders tendered 273.7 mn shares into the bank’s mandatory tender offer (MTO) before it expired yesterday, clearing the 51% minimum acceptance Al Baraka set when it published the offer last month, according to an EGX disclosure. The count is preliminary, and the exchange has yet to confirm final accepted quantities.

Abu Dhabi's L’imad Holding is weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide, the Apollo-controlled air cargo giant that could be valued north of USD 10 bn, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are early, and it's competing against other strategics and PE firms who’ve been circling since Apollo was first reported to be weighing a sale of the closely held company back in December.

Ras El Hekma’s first district is going to the Egyptian loan market. Abu Dhabi developer Modon Holding is seeking a EGP 35 bn (USD 672 mn) syndicated loan to fund infrastructure in Wadi Yemm, the first district of the North Coast megaproject for which Modon has been appointed master developer, Asharq Business reports, citing two sources it says are familiar with the matter. FAB Misr is arranging and managing the facility, with local lenders and UAE banks operating in Egypt expected to participate, one source said.

Three banks — Al Baraka Bank Syria, QNB Syria, and the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria — have put together Syria’s first syndicated Islamic financing, covering two Damascus projects including a 2 km tunnel between Al-Mujtahid and Bab Musalla, Arab News reports. Construction is now scheduled at two to two-and-a-half years, against an earlier 10-year estimate.

IN CONTEXT- Syria took in USD 2.7 bn in 1H against USD 3.7 bn of spending, and Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said the structure eases pressure on the public budget. The Central Bank and the Supreme Fatwa Council both signed off.

Aldar and Mubadala Investment Company have paid AED 918 mn for Masdar City Square, taking the portfolio held through their 2024 joint venture to AED 4.7 bn, according to a press release. The purchase adds income-generating real estate tied to Masdar City’s tech, research, and sustainability tenants.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING

Sarat Investments Holding has launched a USD 100 mn life sciences fund, Jawlah reports. The five-year fund will back 15-20 startups at series A or later that are already commercial and manufacturing, with annual revenues up to c. USD 2 mn — a screen built around exit prospects. A second fund at 5x the size is planned if the first phase works.

Saudi proptech player Rize has secured USD 50 mn in debt financing from Jadwa Investment to fund its residential rental contracts, Zawya reports.

Market Snapshot

Tadawul 0% • ADX 0.5% • DFM 0.3% • EGX30 1.2%

Brent USD 104.08 / bbl • Gold USD 4,397 / oz • USD / SAR 3.75 • USD / EGP 52.1