Beltone says to sell its brokerage unit, Smart Village office

Beltone Financial Holding is looking to sell its brokerage unit, according to the firm’s statement to Egypt’s stock exchange, as well as its office in Smart Village.

The firm said it is giving board director Aladdin Saba, one of Beltone’s founders, the mandate to negotiate and receive external offers from potential buyers.

“The director of the board has decided to receive offers up until March 15, 2012,” the company said in the statement.

“These offers will be presented to the board and collectively they will decide which offer is most suitable.”

As the firm continues to make internal adjustments, it also plans to relocate, with plans to sell its Smart Village headquarters in Sixth of October City. To do so, members have decided to call for an extraordinary general assembly to amend Article 4 of their protocol to allow the firm to take this step.

“After internal discussions regarding the current situation of the company and the securities market, the company’s management…has decided to sell its Smart Village premises,” the statement read.

According to the statement, despite the changes, the signing authorities that complete transactions with third parties such as banks, exchanges, and government offices will remain intact.

Daily News Egypt repeatedly tried to contact Roddy El-Helw, managing director of Beltone Brokerage, for comment, but to no avail. Roddy El-Helw has been managing director, marketing and financial analyst with Beltone Securities Brokerage since 2003.

This comes on the heels of news that Saba would sell his stake in the company, but then reportedly changed course.

After news leaked in late December that company was making changes in management, the Egyptian Stock Exchange halted the company’s trading activities for a day until it discloses details.

The firm quickly responded that its CEO, Saba, would be selling his stake, which would have him the second high-profile Beltone CEO to sell his share after Aly El-Tahry did the same in 2010.

Beltone stressed at the time that the talks were not final. While it hadn't named the potential buyer, El Arabia for Investment and Development said the company is conducting preliminary talks with several investors in Beltone, while also stressing that such talks were "not final."

"The issue is not yet official; if this transaction does go through, it is not clear if the buyer will be the Managing Director or just a stakeholder," Osama Rashad, head of investor relations at Beltone, previously told DNE.
Shortly after their response, EGX resumed Beltone's trading. A few weeks later, news emerged that Saba will maintain his stake in the firm.
But the back and forth talks have raised concerns about the future of the company and its management.

“It doesn’t make sense to have an investment bank if you do not have a brokerage unit, and in terms of Beltone’s brokerage, its value was destructed because it was not well-managed,” a local banker, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, told DNE.

“There seems to be significant shareholder destruction over the last few years with Goldman’s looking to buy the firm at over 10 times the share price. Its unfortunate that Beltone has lost its way in the last few years,” the source added.

The firm, which was formed in 2002, is currently listed on the stock exchange as Beltone Financial Holding.