The Aldar headquartrers in Abu Dhabi
Aldar had taken its time to make the bid for SODIC, having earlier asked the Egyptian regulator for an extension. Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Dubai: Abu Dhabi owned Aldar Properties has made up its mind about bidding for Egyptian master-developer SODIC. A consortium of Aldar and another Abu Dhabi company ADQ has submitted an all-cash mandatory tender offer for up to 90 per cent - and a minimum of 51 per cent - of the outstanding share capital of The Sixth of October for Development and Investment or SODIC.

This offer to SODIC shareholders follows an extensive due diligence carried out by the consortium, which is owned 70 per cent by Aldar and 30 per cent by ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies. (ADQ owns AD Ports and KIZAD free zone among other massive assets.)

"The consortium believes that its final offer of EGP 20.0 per share represents a compelling liquidity event and value proposition for SODIC’s shareholders, reflecting the company’s robust fundamentals and brand equity," it said in a statement.

Reason for the SODIC offer
This proposed acquisition of a majority in SODIC is a part of Aldar’s overall expansion strategy into the "attractive Egyptian real estate market, with Aldar currently assessing several opportunities".

The consortium is offering a purchase price of EGP20 per share, valuing SODIC at EGP7.1 billion ($453million). This is a premium of 18 per cent over the three-month volume-weighted average price of EGP16.88, and of 21 per cent over the six-month VWAP of EGP 16.50.[1]

An approval to launch the offer will be followed by a “validity period” of 10-30 working days, for SODIC shareholders to respond to the MTO. Thereafter, the MTO would need to be executed within no more than five working days.

Headquartered in Cairo and listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), SODIC is one of Egypt’s leading real estate companies.