The offer to acquire 100 percent of Misr Beni Sueif Cement (MBSC) shares at a share price of four dollars, submitted to the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) on June 11, 2003, was exposed as a fabrication, reported Al-Mal.
An individual investor, identified as Dr. Ahmed Shoukry, tendered the bid for a fake corporation, under the name of the Saudi National Investment Company, in an attempt to manipulate the stock price.
As no documents were put forward to confirm this offer, most investors preferred to stay on the sidelines awaiting more facts concerning the sale. Nonetheless, following the initial expression of interest by the bogus company, MBSC’s stock price rose to 17.80 Egyptian pounds per share, up from a previous EP14/share level.
MBSC’s board of directors decided last week to extend the deadline for submittal of tender offers by two weeks. The Egyptian cement producer has been the subject of acquisition talk for over two years. In early May, the company announced the end of negotiations with Ireland’s CRH, after lengthy talks and the issuance of six press releases that year. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
