Bill Gates and a US investors’ group have announced plans to buy a US$1bn stake in Egyptian company Orascom Construction Industries
Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) has decided to end its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) programme in the London Stock Exchange as it relocated from Cairo to Amsterdam under the auspices of OCI NV, with its shares to be listed in the NYSE Euronext exchange.
A statement released by OCI said OCI NV will acquire the GDRs of OCI in exchange for ordinary shares in OCI NV, with plans to launch an American Depository Receipts (ADR) programme in the New York Stock Exchange subsequently.
Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC has joined Southeastern Asset Management and Davis Selected Advisers in helping fund expansion in Egyptian infrastructure projects as well as other activities.
According to OCI CEO Nassef Sawiris, “The investment is proof of the existing international appetite to invest in Egypt and bodes well for the Egyptian economy with more than US$1bn committed by US investors.”
