CAIRO: Public sector shareholders in Egypt s Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC) plan to sell shares worth half the firm s capital, the firm told the Egyptian bourse in a statement on Thursday. Bidders for the 43,050,000 shares on offer will also be committed to purchasing all shares offered for sale by private sector shareholders, the statement continued. Based on this announcement, the buyer will also be required to buy any stocks that are in free float, whose owners are willing to sell at the same price, an analyst who declined to be named said. One broker said this procedure was common when the state is seeking a strategic investor to manage the company. AMOC s current paid-in capital totals LE 861 million ($149 million) spread across 86.1 million shares with a nominal value of LE 10 each, the state MENA news agency reported. The statement, which said Egypt s Capital Market Authority was studying the prospective sale, gave no pricing details or timeline. Some of the larger public sector holders of AMOC shares include National Bank of Egypt with an 18.8 percent stake, Banque Misr with 14.2 percent and Alexandria Petroleum with 20 percent, said state news agency MENA. In September last year 20 percent of the firm was privatized in a heavily oversubscribed auction. At close of trade on Thursday, AMOC shares had ended LE 1.12, or 1.4 percent, down at LE 81.1. Reuters
