Select Milestones for Citadel Capital and its Platform Companies
Since its founding in 2004, Citadel Capital has executed 54 transactions, creating a portfolio of investments that span from cement, gold and agrifoods to energy, transportation and specialty real estate. A selection of key Citadel Capital milestones is below.
July 2010
ASEC Cement begins production at its greenfield Takamol plant in Sudan. When full production capacity is reached, the plant is set to reduce by half Sudan’s annual cement deficit of 3 MTPA.
July 2010
ASEC Engineering, a Portfolio Company of ASEC Holding, signs a contract with Alsalam Cement Production Company (ACPC) to manage its cement plant near Atbara, Sudan.
July 2010
ARESCO signs US$ 130 million contract with Building Materials Industry Company (BMIC) to construct a new cement plant in Assiut, Egypt.
July 2010
The International Finance Corporation invests US$ 120 million in Egyptian Refining Company (ERC)’s US$ 3.7 billion second-stage refinery.
June 2010
Citadel Capital wins the “African Business of the Year” award from Africa Business magazine and the Commonwealth Business Council.
June 2010
Bonyan for Development and Trade launches Designopolis, the region’s first furnishings and design retail mall, in Sixth of October City. Eighty local and international brands open stores in the mall, which will eventually host more than 300 retailers.
May 2010
ASEC Cement launches operations for ASEC Ready Mix, which will primarily serve Upper Egyptian cities of Minya, Assiut and Qena.
May 2010
ASEC Cement and TAQA Arabia inaugurate of Berber for Electrical Power, a 42 megawatt power plant, to meet the electricity needs of Takamol, ASEC Cement’s 1.6 million ton per annum greenfield cement plant in Sudan.
May 2010
The National Oil Production Company (NOPC) and subsidiary Rally Energy increase production 80% since December 2009, to 6,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD). The companies operate in both Egypt and Pakistan.
April 2010
El-Nahda for Integrated Solutions, a Wafra Portfolio Company, signs a deal with the White Nile Governorate to build Sudan’s first large-scale commercial rice farm on 60,000 feddans of land.
March 2010
Citadel Capital is named “Africa’s Best Private Equity House” by emeaFinance for the third consecutive year.
March 2010
Citadel Capital wins Infrastructure Investor magazine’s “African Infrastructure Deal of the Year” award for its investment in Nile Logistics, the firm’s Platform Company in the logistics, river transport and port management sector in Egypt and Sudan.
March 2010
Lead investors in Rift Valley Railways agree on a new shareholding structure, with Ambience Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Citadel Capital, taking majority ownership (51%) of the company. The restructuring paves the way for US$ 250 million in much-needed capital expenditure to upgrade both the rail infrastructure and rolling stock.
March 2010
Citadel Capital signs a right-of-way agreement with Sudanese Railway Corporation, setting the groundwork for Nile Valley Railways to enter Sudan’s cargo transport market.
March 2010
Sphinx Glass announces the start of commissioning of its EGP 1.1 billion float glass factory.
February 2010
Dina Farms concludes a deal to purchase 850 top-quality U.S. dairy cows, part of the company’s drive to grow the herd to 10,000 by 2012.
February 2010
NRPMC’s Tanash river port becomes fully-operational with the initiation of a five-year contract to transport up to 2 million tons of wheat annually along the River Nile for Egypt’s General Company for Silos and Storage (GCSS).
February 2010
Citadel Capital acquires a 49% stake in Sheltam Railways Company, the largest single shareholder and lead investor in Rift Valley Railways of Kenya and Uganda.
February 2010
ASEC Holding acquires an additional 9.48% of ASEC Cement, raising its stake to 61.04%, in a deal worth US$ 80 million in cash and shares. The transaction values ASEC Cement at EGP 14.68 per share.
January 2010
TAQA Arabia and ASEC Cement establish Sudanese power-generation joint venture, Berber for Electrical Power, with the Sudanese Pension Fund. The 42 MW venture is designed to provide all the electricity needs for Takamol, ASEC Cement’s 1.6 million ton per annum greenfield cement plant in Sudan.
January 2010
Citadel Capital announces its plans to invest a further US$ 200-400 million through 2012 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
December 2009
Citadel Capital announces its expansion into East Africa with the acquisition of a 17.5% indirect stake in Rift Valley Railways, which has a concession to operate the storied Kenya-Uganda rail line.
December 2009
Citadel Capital shares begin trading on the Egyptian Stock Exchange under the stock symbol CCAP.CA.
December 2009
Citadel Capital announces the creation of Berber for Electrical Power, a 42 MW plant that marks a major milestone for TAQA Arabia’s power-generation business and secures vital energy production for Takamol, the most technologically advanced cement plant in Sudan. Takamol is part of ASEC Cement, a Citadel Capital portfolio company, and will begin operating in summer 2010.
November 2009
Citadel Capital sells 6% of ASEC Holding to Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC) for EGP 276.6 million, implying a share price of EGP 28.52, bringing Citadel Capital’s ownership below 50%.
November 2009
The National River Ports Management Company (NRPMC) completes construction of Tanash Port (North Cairo) with initial capacity of 1 million tons and 35,000 TEUs. The Port officially opened on schedule in 1Q10. NRPMC has also received final approvals / completed licensing of Tebbin and Alex ports.
November 2009
Gozour announces it has made its first cross-border acquisition with an agreement to take a 75% stake in Al-Musharraf, Sudan’s leading producer of halawa, biscuits and flour, for an enterprise value of US$ 19 million.
November 2009
Citadel Capital announces it has acquired ECARU (a leading agricultural and municipal solid waste management firm) and ENTAG (which provides turn-key solid waste management solutions) as the nucleus of its eighteenth Platform Company under its ECO-LOGIC Opportunity-Specific Fund. The Platform Company is subsequently named Tawazon.
October 2009
ASCOM Precious Metals Mining (APM) has consolidated all exploration operations under one entity. APM is following on exploration projects in Ethiopia and pursuing new exploration rights in Sudan. In October 2009, APM acquires a strategic 9% stake in GMA Resources, a UK-listed gold exploration and production company that owns 52% of a promising exploration and production operation in Southern Algeria.
August 2009
River Valley-Keer Marine’s 21 barges and pushers start operations. The company has finalized a renewable contract to transport approximately 25% of the UN World Food Programme’s needs (approx. 56,000 tons p.a.) between Kosti, Bor, Malakal and Juba.
July 2009
Greenfield microcredit lender Tanmeyah opens for business with a 15-branch network. By year’s end, that network has grown to 48 branches with more than 200 employees covering seven Egyptian governorates. Its loan book at year’s end is worth more than US$ 9.1 million and covers 32,000 clients.
July 2009
The spin-off of Mashreq Petroleum from TAQA Arabia is completed. Mashreq holds a lease on a 210,000-square-meter plot of land in East Port Said near the entrance to the Suez Canal. The company announces at the time that dredging, shore protection and site leveling are complete, in addition to engineering and design of the tank farm, layout and marine engineering.
July 2009
Nile Logistics acquires 51% of Sudanese river transport company Keer Marine. Included in the purchase price are 21 multipurpose river barges and pushers and two strategic plots of land in Kosti, 300 kilometers south of Khartoum, that are being developed into ports with storage facilities.
July 2009
Gozour Portfolio Company Rashidi El-Mizan announces it has begun production at the Middle East and Africa’s most advanced jam and tomato paste factory. The EGP 30 million facility feeds a distribution network that reaches 91% of Egypt’s consumer market and exports to 34 countries.
June 2009
TAQA Arabia unveils its plans to launch a new chain of retail petrol filling stations under the TAQA Arabia brand name. With first stations launched in 2009 in Beheira, Assiut, Sharkeya, Kafr El-Sheikh and Ismaliyya, the company plans to roll out a network of 45 points of presence over a five-year period. TAQA Arabia is the exclusive distributor for Castrol products in Egypt.
June 2009
Gozour announces that it has acquired the Nile Company for Food Products (Enjoy), Egypt’s second-largest brand of dairy and juice products.
June 2009
Bonyan announces that it has completed construction on phase 1 of its Designopolis furnishings, design and home accessories mall in Sixth of October City. Construction is completed on schedule in less than 18 months. The first phase is fully leased by major international and national tenants.
April 2009
Sphinx Private Equity Management holds a successful first close of the US$ 100 million Sphinx Turnaround Fund (STF) with investments from fund sponsor Citadel Capital as well as anchor investors International Finance Corporation, European Investment Bank and Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets.
January 2009
SEAC forms in early 2009 and contracts 250,000 feddans of land in southern Sudan. Together with Sabina, Citadel Capital’s approximately 254,000 feddan agricultural land bank in northern Sudan, SEAC is part of the firm’s new agriculture platform with total committed equity of US$ 40 million.
February 2009
Citadel Capital completes an EGP 275 million (US$ 50 million) capital increase despite difficult market conditions. The firm will use the proceeds to fund expansion at some of its Platform Companies. This is Citadel Capital’s fourth capital increase to date. The firm’s paid-in capital now stands at EGP 3.025 billion (US$ 550 million).
January 2009
Citadel Capital is announced MENA Private Equity House of the Year by Acquisitions Monthly, the international buy-out magazine, and Best Private Equity House in Africa by emeaFinance magazine.
The firm secures EGP 675 million (US$ 123 million) in project financing for Sphinx Glass, which is building an EGP 1.1 billion (US$ 200 million) greenfield float glass plant in north Cairo. The plant will have the capacity to produce up to 220,000 tons of glass per annum and will cater to both the local and export markets when operations begin in 2010.
August 2008
Citadel Capital acquires El Aguizy International, a well-known specialty exporter, as a bolt-on acquisition for Gozour, the firm’s integrated regional agriculture and consumer foods platform. Gozour plans to help El Aguizy boost its export sales and add further to its land bank in Egypt.
Summer 2008
As the supply of top global management talent increases, Citadel Capital accelerates the pace of recruiting senior staff for its Platform Companies.
July 2008
Capping a series of on-market sales in the first half of the year, Citadel Capital completes a partial exit of ASCOM, its regional mining platform. The firm reduces its shareholding in ASCOM to 49.9% from 61.5% for total proceeds of US$ 45 million.
June 2008
Citadel Capital launches the first leg of a road show to market a new US$ 500 million joint investment fund targeting global and regional institutional investors. The fund is designed to expand Citadel Capital’s fundraising to also include regional sovereign wealth funds and leading Western institutions.
September 2007
The firm acquires Calgary-based Rally Energy Corp., a listed oil and gas production and exploration company with operations in Egypt and Pakistan, for US$ 868 million.
September 2007
Citadel Capital begins a string of acquisitions that will culminate in the launch of Gozour, its regional integrated agricultural and multi-category consumer foods platform.
September 2007
The firm establishes GlassWorks, which acquires a 35% stake in Misr Glass Manufacturing.
August 2007
Citadel Capital establishes Bonyan, a specialty real estate developer that will develop commercial real estate projects including Egypt’s first state-of-the-art design, furniture and home accessories mega-malls.
June 2007
Citadel Capital sells the Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC) in a landmark deal valuing its equity investment at US$ 1.41 billion.
June 2007
The firm establishes the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), which will construct, own and operate a state-of-the-art second stage hydrocracking / coking facility in the Greater Cairo area.
June 2007
Citadel Capital opens its first office outside Cairo in Algiers, Algeria.
January 2007
The firm acquires a 31.5% stake in the National Company for Maize Products as a bolt-on acquisition for Gozour in a deal worth EGP 162.5 million (US$ 29.5 million).
December 2006
ASCOM Geology and Mining, the premier Egyptian mining company, is spun off from ASEC Holding and listed on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (now the Egyptian Exchange, EGX). ASCOM becomes a Platform Company for mining with interests in industrial minerals and precious metals.
September 2006
Citadel Capital establishes the National River Transportation Company (NRTC) to capitalize on Egypt’s underdeveloped river transport sector in Egypt. NRTC is developing strategically located river ports and plans to operate a fleet of up to 100 fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly barges capable of transporting up to 15 million tons of goods each year.
March 2006
The firm establishes TAQA Arabia, which becomes the Platform Company for its full-service regional energy solutions group, through a series of acquisitions.
September 2005
National Petroleum Company (NPC) is established as Citadel Capital’s regional oil and gas exploration and production Platform Company.
August 2005
The firm sells its stake in Helwan Portland Cement Company to global producer Italcementi in a transaction that values HPCC at US$ 795 million.
July 2005
Citadel Capital acquires 100% of the Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC).
May 2005:
The firm buys the balance of ASEC and carries out a capital increase for ASEC’s Helwan Portland Cement Company (HPCC) through a CASE (now EGX) listing.
May 2005
Citadel Capital establishes Grandview to invest in mid-cap opportunities. Grandview invests in companies with an enterprise value of less than US$ 25 million; its funds are managed by Sphinx Egypt, a private equity management company formed by Citadel Capital.
In its first transaction, Citadel Capital acquires 59% of ASEC Holding, a distressed cement and construction holding company.
April 2004
Citadel Capital is founded to pursue opportunities in select Middle Eastern and North African markets.