The Saudi Anwal United Trading Company which owns nearly 85 percent of the Omar Effendi Company has sold its shares the Egyptian owned Arab Company for Investment and Development (AICR).
According to an official statement by AICR on Thursday the company has signed a contract to acquire the Anwal Company's shares. According to contracts made during the privatization of Omar Effendi the remaining shares are owned by the National Company for Construction (10 percent) and the World Bank (five percent). The statement did not specify the financial costs of the deal but it said that AICR will begin surveying the property within eight weeks of paying the Saudi company.
An international arbitration is currently considering a lawsuit filed by the Egyptian government to rescind the contract of the sale of Omar Effendi to the Saudi investor. A court decision about the matter is expected in December. President of the National Company for Construction, Ahmed al-Sayyed, said the contract concerned with the privatization of Omar Effendi prevents the Saudi investor from selling its assets without the government's consent.
He went on to say that a decision will be issued to refer the matter to the company's legal committee who will check its compliance with the privatization contract. He also said the sale involved shares and not assets but that the legal committee would study the matter to see if the terms of the privatization deal have been broken under the new deal.
For his part CEO of Anwal United Trading Co Jamil al-Qanbeet told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the sale of his company's shares in Omar Effendi is purely a commercial deal that has nothing o do with the recent furor surrounding Omar Effendi or with the impending decision.
He added there were no conditions in the contract signed by his company with the United Holding Company for Trade, the previous owner of Omar Effendi, which would prevent his company from selling their shares to another investor.
