Mubasher: Mustafa Gad, Head of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes Holding, said that the company is working on two government offerings on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in the services and industrial sectors, in addition to seven offerings in the Gulf.

Mustafa Gad, Head of Promotion and Underwriting, told Asharq Al-Awsat that his group is working on approximately 10 merger and acquisition deals this year, valued between $6 and $8 billion, with Egypt accounting for 40% to 50% of these deals.

In an interview on the sidelines of the group's 19th annual investment conference in Dubai, he stated that the group is currently in the preparatory stages for government offerings in Egypt.

Late last year, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revealed that his country plans to list at least 10 companies by 2025, four of which will be military-owned. The offerings will range from direct investment to stock exchanges, and will include the Bank of Alexandria and Banque du Caire.

Ten billion dollar offerings

The Egyptian group is working on seven IPOs in the Gulf this year, with values reaching $10 billion, including five in Saudi Arabia, according to Gad.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat last February, the official revealed that the region's markets will witness activity in new offerings this year, perhaps exceeding last year's pace, particularly in the Saudi market. He added at the time that the excellent results of initial public offerings on Gulf stock exchanges in recent years are encouraging investors to turn to the region's financial markets.

Regarding Saudi Arabia, EFG has four merger and acquisition deals underway by the end of the year.

IPOs postponed due to Trump tariffs

The head of the promotion and underwriting sector believes that any current offerings will depend on the market's shape, the impact of Trump's decisions, and the extent to which people understand them. He added, "We have not postponed or canceled any of our offerings yet, and the timing is difficult at the moment to make any decisions, so we need at least two weeks before making any decisions."

Billions of dollars in acquisitions and initial public offerings have been put on hold after US President Donald Trump's trade war upended the global economy, exacerbating the complexities of a deal market already struggling at the beginning of the year.

The turmoil was not limited to initial public offerings, but extended to mergers and acquisitions deals.

Bloomberg reported last Saturday that French building materials company Cie de Saint-Gobain decided to suspend the sale of its glass unit, a deal that could have been worth up to €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion).