RIYADH: Dubai’s state energy firm and Saudi Petromin Corporation have entered a competition with Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC to bid on the first company affiliated with Egyptian army to be offered to investors, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
This bid will allow the winning company to take joint full ownership of military-owned Wataniya Petroleum, a fuel distribution company with 200 filling stations, with Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund (SFE).
The bidding race is expected to be finalized before the end of 2021. Cairo-based investment bank EFG Hermes is advising the wealth fund on the initiative.
Due diligence is underway on Wataniya, according to the people who asked to remain anonymous as the negotiations are confidential.
The upcoming deal will be the first to offer up to full ownership in about 10 companies owned by the Egyptian National Service Projects Organization, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.
The selected companies would initially be offered to private investors and could then be listed on Egypt’s stock exchange.
