REDMOND (dpa-AFX) - A US group led by Bill Gates will invest $1 billion in OCI NV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orascom Construction Industries S.A.E. (ORSD.L). Orascom Construction Industries SAE is a leading Egyptian engineering, procurement and construction contractor, based in Cairo, Egypt and active in more than 25 countries.
On Friday, OCI N.V. announced it launched an exchange offer to acquire all of the outstanding Regulation S global depositary receipts or GDRs of Orascom Construction Industries, SAE or OCI in exchange for ordinary shares in OCI N.V. OCI N.V. plans to subsequently launch an ADR program on the New York Stock Exchange.
The transaction consists of an offer to acquire all of OCI's Regulation S GDRs in exchange for OCI N.V. shares ; and a mandatory tender offer to acquire all of OCI's ordinary shares in exchange for OCI N.V. shares or cash at EGP 280 per OCI share in compliance with Egyptian regulations.
OCI N.V. said it has obtained commitments in excess of US$2 billion from participating investors, including US$1 billion from US investors comprising Cascade Investment, L.L.C., an entity wholly owned by Bill Gates, Southeastern Asset Management, and Davis Selected Advisers, to provide the funding required under the Share Exchange Offer with a Cash Alternative to pay shareholders who elect to tender their OCI ordinary shares for cash.
Commenting on the transaction, Nassef Sawiris, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OCI, said 'This transaction is proof of the existing international appetite to invest in Egypt and bodes well for the Egyptian economy with more than US$ 1 billion committed by US investors.'
Under the GDR Exchange Offer, holders of OCI GDRs will be entitled to receive one OCI N.V. share for each one OCI GDR they validly tender. Following completion of the GDR Exchange Offer and the Share Exchange Offer with a Cash Alternative, OCI's GDR program will be retired.
The company said it has completed its application to the Dutch Authority for the Financial Market in respect of the Offering Circular prepared in connection with the admission to listing and trading of the OCI N.V. Shares on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. Listing is expected to occur on 25 January 2013 and the OCI N.V. shares will be quoted in US dollars and Euros. The company also plans to subsequently launch an ADR program on the New York Stock Exchange.
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