Egypt's Citadel Capital denies that it acquired Helwan Portland Cement from state

The region's leading equity firm details how it purchased the once state-owned cement firm from a third party and not the government as has been alleged

Citadel Capital has refuted claims that it acquired Helwan Portland Cement Company from the government. In a press release on Friday, the investment fund stated that it purchased the cement company its acquisition of Arab Swiss Engineering Company.
More to the point, Citadel Capital did not exist as a firm when Helwan Portland Cement Company was privatised. Citadel Capital came into being on 13 April 2004, while Helwan Portland Cement Company was sold to Arab Swiss Engineering Company in September 2001.
Citadel went on to clarify how its acquisition of Helwan Portland Cement started in September 2001, when the Arab Swiss Engineering Company bought a 75 per cent stake in the company from the state through an affiliate company, then known as Al-Ahram Cement. The Arab Swiss Engineering Company was at the time 49 per cent owned by Omar Amin Roshdy Gamei (since deceased) and 51 per cent was owned by other cement companies.
Three years later on 9 December 2004, Citadel Capital – through Al-Wataniya Trade and Development, owned fully by Citadel Capital – purchased the full stake in Arab Swiss Engineering Company that was at the time owned by Gamei's heirs.
Subsequently, Citadel Capital purchased the outstanding shares in Arab Swiss Engineering Company (50 per cent) from other shareholders – a 10 per cent stake from each of ASEC Cement, Portland cement, Suez Cement, Al-Qawmiya Cement and Alexandria Cement.
Citadel Capital is one of the leading private equity firms in the Middle East and North Africa region. Its 19 funds control platform companies with investments of more than $8.6 billion across 15 industries including energy, mining, agriculture, cement, transportation and retail, according to its website.
Founded in 2004, Citadel Capital is majority owned and controlled by its employees.
In 2010, owner Ahmed Heikal and his brother Hassan made their first appearances on the Arab world's most wealthy list, charting at 48th and 49th respectively, with an estimated wealth of $1.7 billion each. They are the sons of Hassanein Heikal, the Nasserist political writer.