Stock-market listed Qalaa Holding has assigned international investment bank Renaissance Capital to study obtaining international funds for the company, Qalaa said in a statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange Tuesday. On 22 February, Qalaa announced increasing their capital to EGP 1.8bn. Qalaa has also announced its intention to exit its remaining food businesses, hiring investment bank EFG Hermes to advise on the possibility of divestiture. The two food companies are Egypt's giant confectioner Rashidi El-Mizan and private-sector milk producer Dina Farms, Qalaa said in a statement. It clarified that the news arrives following its announcement on Monday to generate $300m medium-term through exiting non-core projects. On 4 February, Qalaa exited on its 80% stake in investment bank Pharos Holding for Financial Investment, at a value of EGP 40m. A group of investors led by Pharos Holding's chairman Mohamed Taymour has acquired the sold stakes, with Qalaa's subsidiary Finance Unlimited. Qalaa Holdings, formerly known as Citadel Capital, currently owns assets amounting to $9.5bn. In the third quarter of 2014, it reduced its losses to EGP 59.6m, 67% less than the preceding quarter. Qalaa Holdings is also investing in the Suez Canal Development project through three of its subsidiaries. The group's cement subsidiary, ASEC, is acting along with 32 other companies to dig the new canal.
