EFG-Hermes managed to complete the biggest IPO in Egyptian history this week with the $368m IPO of Orascom Telecom. Although the deal was priced below the bottom end of the bookbuilding range, it still gives the telecoms operator a generous valuation, say analysts. Orascom used a bookbuilding range of $19-$24 for the IPO, but set the final price at $16. "The company's first aim was to attract big foreign institutions, so it was focusing on the quality of the investors and not the price of the deal," an official at EFG-Hermes said.
July 14, 2000