A consortium of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), France’s Amethis – member of Edmond de Rothschild private equity platform, and SPE Capital announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Egyptian fintech GlobalCorp.
Established in 2015, GlobalCorp is a leading Egyptian non-bank financial player with a current focus on leasing and factoring solutions for corporates and small, medium and large enterprises. Its leased assets include production lines, equipment and machinery, vehicles, and commercial/industrial real-estate while the factoring product portfolio covers a range of short-term financing solutions.
Since inception, GlobalCorp has extended 13 billion Egyptian pounds ($715 million) of credit over 800 leasing and factoring contracts spanning more than 30 industries, with over 25 percent of its portfolio serving SMEs and green financing. The company has also arranged the first and largest factoring syndication in Egypt and has completed its first securitisation at the end of 2021.
The investment consortium will be investing in GlobalCorp alongside founder, Group CEO Hatem Samir and in partnership with his management team.
The investment in GlobalCorp will include a primary capital investment to further scale the company’s portfolio and expand into new business segments.
Adnane Zerhouni, Investment Director at Amethis, said: “we are looking forward to help grow the company, thus contributing to financial inclusion in Egypt. This is the first investment of Amethis in Egypt, which is now a core market for our funds.”
The consortium will also partner with GlobalCorp’s management on scaling the company’s infrastructure and operations, investing in technology and advancing the company’s impact agenda, including the promotion of greater financial inclusion, financing to SME clients and green initiatives as well as promoting leading ESG and client protection standards within the NBFS industry, GlobalCorp, EBRD, SPE, and Amethis said in a joint release.
“We are very happy to join this consortium for the Bank’s first equity investment in a financial institution in Egypt and its first partnership in Egypt’s leasing and factoring sector.” Heike Harmgart, EBRD managing director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, said.
“This investment will support a leading financial company to provide financing to an important segment of the Egyptian economy, covering small and medium businesses.”
Ahmed Eloraby, Partner and Mehdi Charfi, Managing Partner at SPE Capital, added: “This will be our second investment in Egypt through the SPE AIF I fund and a reflection of the deepening of SPE Capital’s on-the-ground presence as a team.”
Meanwhile, GlobalCorp’s Hatem Samir said: “The backing of leading international financial institutions is a testimony to GlobalCorp’s success and unique profile in the market. We have ambitious plans for the company and look forward to combining our strengths to create value for all our stakeholders.”
The consortium deal teams included Adnane Zerhouni, Aurélie Pujo, Badr Chkiriba, Omar Naciri and Khalil Benjelloun Touimi representing Amethis, while Oumnia Benaddi, Sweta Penemetsa, Hassan Masoud, Martin Levesques and Dominique Naggar from the EBRD, and Mehdi Charfi, Ahmed Eloraby, Sami Ergin and Omar Elhariry from SPE Capital.
The consortium was advised by Helmy, Hamza and Partners – Member Firm of Baker & McKenzie International (legal advisor), PricewaterhouseCoopers (financial advisor), IBIS Consulting (ESG and Impact), and various other consultants on commercial and technical matters.
The sellers were advised by Kamco Investment Company (Kamco Invest) (exclusive sell side financial advisor) and Matouk Bassiouny Business Law Office (legal advisor).
