Abu Dhabi’s Aldar-ADQ consortium offers to purchase up to 90% stake in Egypt’s SODIC

A consortium comprising of Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties and ADQ has submitted an all-cash mandatory tender offer for up to 90 per cent and a minimum of 51 per cent of the outstanding share capital of The Sixth of October for Development and Investment (SODIC).

The tender offer has been submitted for approval by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).

The submission on September 14, 2021 is in accordance with Chapter XII of the Executive Regulations of the Egyptian Capital Market Law No. 95 of the Year 1992, a statement said.

The offer to SODIC shareholders follows a due diligence process carried out by the consortium, which is owned 70 per cent by Aldar and 30 per cent by ADQ.

The consortium is offering a purchase price of EGP20 per share, valuing the company at EGP7.1bn ($453m). This represents a premium of 18 per cent over the three-month volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of EGP16.88, and a premium of 21 per cent over the six-month VWAP of EGP16.50.

An approval to launch the tender offer by the FRA will be followed by a validity period of 10-30 working days, subject to the discretion of the FRA, for SODIC shareholders to respond to the offer. Thereafter, the offer would need to be executed within no more than five working days, the statement added.

The proposed acquisition of a majority stake in SODIC is a part of Aldar’s overall expansion strategy into the Egyptian real estate market. Headquartered in Cairo and listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), SODIC is a real estate company with a portfolio of residential, commercial, and retail projects.