Finance Egypt raises $800m from stake sale in historic hotels By Pramod Kumar December 21, 2023, 5:33 AM Reuters/Aly Songol Revenues from the sale of stake in state assets have reached $5.6 billion so far, said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly The Sovereign Fund of Egypt has signed an $800 million deal to sell a stake in seven historic hotels to Arab Company for Tourism and Hotels Investments (Icon), a subsidiary of Cairo-based Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG). Icon has acquired a 39 percent stake in Legacy Hotels, with the option to subscribe to a capital increase, which will grant them a controlling 51 percent stake, Egypt Today newspaper reported. The funding for the deal will come from Icon’s internal resources, the report added. The seven historic hotels include the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Movenpick Resort Aswan, Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Steigenberger Hotel Tahrir, Steigenberger Cecil Hotel Alexandria, Marriott Mena House Cairo, and Marriott Omar Khayyam Zamalek. Revenues from the sale of stakes in state-owned assets has reached $5.6 billion so far, Reuters reported, citing Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation, the government has conducted preliminary studies on the divestment of 50 companies. In December 2022, Egypt unveiled a state ownership policy aimed at empowering the country’s private sector to drive economic growth. Egyptian assistant prime minister Osama El Gohary said in June that the country intends to divest its stakes in 250 companies under its privatisation programme. The government has decided that 250 of the 800 companies can be offered now, he said, adding the committee will decide on the timings for the rest.