PIF’s Egyptian investment arm set to acquire shares in education-focused Social Impact Capital

Egypt’s Social Impact Capital is set to receive a significant financial boost as it announced a conditional agreement with the Saudi Egyptian Investment Co.

Under the terms of the deal, SEIC will subscribe for new shares in SIC, the principal shareholder of CIRA Education, which is listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

This financial arrangement is designed to facilitate SIC’s acquisition of additional shares in CIRA, potentially increasing SIC’s total shareholding to between 75 percent and 100 percent at a price of 14 Egyptian pounds ($0.29) per share.

This move aims to delist CIRA from the Egyptian exchange and transform it into a major regional player in the education sector.

SEIC, wholly owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, will play a crucial role in enhancing CIRA’s market position. As one of the largest fully integrated education service providers in Egypt’s private sector, CIRA stands to benefit significantly from this partnership.

The completion of this conditional agreement is contingent upon successful due diligence, securing applicable regulatory approvals, and the execution of definitive agreements.

Following these steps, the SIC-SEIC consortium plans to extend a mandatory tender offer to CIRA’s other shareholders on the Egyptian stock exchange in line with existing laws and regulations.

CIRA’s initial public offering was in 2018 at a market value of 1.2 billion Egyptian pounds.

According to several reports, the company’s IPO saw selling shareholders SIC alongside other minority reserve holders offer of 207.26 million shares, or 37.8 percent of CIRA, to institutional and retail investors at a price of 6 Egyptian pounds per share.

Moreover, SEIC has been a major investor in Egyptian companies.

In 2023, the investment entity acquired a 25.01 percent stake in state-owned fintech giant e-Finance.

This comes as SEIC acquired an initial 25 percent stake in the fintech company in 2022, making it e-Finance’s largest shareholder.

Also in 2022, SEIC acquired minority stakes in three other Egyptian state-owned companies with a total investment of $1.3 billion.

The three other companies are Abu Qir Fertilisers and Chemical Industries, Misr Fertilisers Production Co., and Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling.