Egyptian river transport fund nets $21m

Leading private equity firm Citadel Capital said two major European financial groups have announced plans to jointly invest $21 million in a fund that controls the company’s Egyptian river transport investments.

Announcing this on Monday, Citadel Capital said as per the agreement, the German development finance institution DEG will invest $14 million into the Opportunity-Specific Fund, while European Investment Bank (EIB) will pump in $7 million.

The Opportunity-Specific Fund controls Citadel Capital’s Egyptian river transportation investments - which operates an environmentally friendly network of ports and highly fuel efficient barges in the Arab world’s most populous country.

“This is a valuable step to further strengthen the Egyptian logistics industry by offering alternative domestic freight routes while taking traffic off Egyptian roads,” said Christoph Evard, leading DEG’s equity team on this transaction.

“We are proud to be actively supporting Egypt’s economic development in the current times and believe that this should have a positive effect on other private sector investors. Our commitment should send a message that this is a good time to be looking at investments in Egypt.”

The fund, Citadel Capital Transport Opportunities II (CCTO II), controls barge operator Nile Cargo and the National River Port Management Company (NRPMC).

Both fall under the umbrella of NMT, Citadel Capital’s holding company for investments in Egypt’s logistics and river transportation sector. Citadel Capital’s river transport investments in Sudan fall under the Nile Logistics Platform Company, which in turn is a shareholder in CCTO II.

'The DEG and EIB always make careful investment decisions,' remarked Ahmed Heikal, chairman and founder of Citadel Capital, which has investments spanning 14 countries and 15 industries.