(MENAFN- AzerNews) Actis LLP and Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd revived their
interests in buying a major Egyptian power plant, in a deal that
may be worth about $2 billion and would boost the North African
nation's troubled economy, Azernews reports, citing Al Arabiya.
Both companies intend to enter offers to purchase as much as
full ownership and operate the facility that's located in Beni
Suef, south of Cairo, according to people familiar with the matter,
who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private.
The firms expressed interest in 2019 for a mooted sale that didn't
materialize.
The plant is one of three co-built by Siemens AG with a total
capacity of 14.4 gigawatts that were inaugurated by President
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in mid-2018 as the latest in a series of
ambitious megaprojects. Now it's on the auction block, as the
Middle East's most populous nation races to shrink the state's
economic footprint and secure badly needed foreign currency.
Egypt is seeking to offload parts of more than two dozen
state-owned companies and assets, with Cairo's energy-rich Gulf
Arab allies expected to be the main buyers. But a pact with
London-headquartered Actis or Edra of Malaysia would be a welcome
infusion of capital from outside the region and potentially the
highest-valued individual deal of all.
Actis declined to comment. Edra, which is a subsidiary of China
General Nuclear Power Corp., didn't respond to a request for
comment.
The three plants cost €6 billion ($6.4 billion) to build, with
financ-ing mainly coming from a consortium led by Deutsche Bank AG,
HSBC Holdings Plc, and KfW-IPEX Bank AG.
The state-owned Egyptian Electricity Holding Co. paid about 85
percentof the three power plants' costs with the loan from the
banking consortium backed by a sovereign guarantee.
A new buyer would assume responsibility for financial dues on
the plant, according to the people familiar with the plans, helping
Egypt ease one of the Middle East's largest debt burdens. The $2
billion valuation includes debt on the facility, meaning the
government would likely receive less than that sum for the
sale.
Authorities have alerted the lenders to the potential deal and
are awaiting their clearance before sending the so-called request
for proposal to Actis and Edra, the people said.
A power-purchasing agreement would also be signed with the
company, which would sell the electricity produced to the
government.
Egypt's sovereign wealth fund said in 2019 it may acquire a
stake of about 30 percent in the plants, with international
investors taking the rest.
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