CAIRO: Egypt-based investment bank Pharos Holding facilitated Solvay Group's complete acquisition of Alexandria Sodium Carbonate Company (ASCC), the bank said in a press statement. Solvay Group, which manufactures sodium carbonate, bought out ASCC in a LE 760 million deal. Pharos Holding's investment banking division acted as lead financial advisors to Solvay, while Pharos Securities was the mandated broker to execute the transaction. Solvay took control of ASCC from the Holding Company for Chemical Industries (HCCI), an Egyptian state-owned company, on Nov. 9 and has already appointed a new board of directors. ASCC is Egypt's sole producer of sodium carbonate and quicklime, with a production capacity of 130,000 TPA. Sodium carbonate is most commonly used in glass manufacturing. ASCC's plant was established in 1974 near the city of Alexandria, and was "thoroughly modernized at the end of the 1990s, the company said in a statement. Pharos Holding said the acquisition is "a model for successful responsible privatization. "Solvay signed a memorandum of understanding with the General Trade Union of Chemical Workers and members of the Labor Union of ASCC to address the concerns of the labor force of ASCC and guarantee their rights, said Elwy Taymour, managing partner at Pharos Holding for Financial Investments. With more than 1,000 employees, Solvay plans to expand the capacity of the plant to 200,000 TPA, and possibly up to 500,000 TPA in the long term. Solvay welcomes this opportunity to become an industrial operator in Egypt, at the heart of a new market with exciting growth prospects, said Christian Jourquin, CEO of Solvay group. Solvay is an international chemical and pharmaceutical group with headquarters in Brussels, which operates in 50 countries. In 2007, its consolidated sales amounted to ?9.6 billion.
