Deals
UAE Firm Takes Stake in Egypt Tobacco Giant for $625 Million
Customers smoke hookah at a cafe in Cairo, Egypt, on January 1, 2023 in Cairo, Egypt.
Photographer: Fadel Dawod/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
A United Arab Emirates investment firm bought a 30% stake in Egypt’s largest tobacco company for $625 million, in a major boost to the North African nation’s ambitious program to offload state assets and raise sorely-needed foreign currency.
The UAE firm, identified by Egypt’s cabinet as Global Investment Holding Ltd., will also provide Eastern Company with $150 million for the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing, the Egyptian government said in an Arabic-language statement on its Facebook page. It gave no further details about the investor.