EFG Hermes Investment Banking Concludes Advisory on B.TECH’s EGP300 Million Strategic Partnership with DPI, a Leading African Private Equity Firm  The transaction is the sixth successful advisory by EFG Hermes’ investment banking division in 2016 and reaffirms the attractiveness of the Egyptian retail and consumer market EFG Hermes, the leading investment bank in the Arab world, concluded its advisory to B.TECH for Trading and Distribution — Egypt’s largest retailer and distributor of household appliances and consumer electronics— on its strategic partnership with DPI, a leading African private equity firm with US$1.1 billion under management. The transaction will see the latter invest EGP 300 million to fund B.TECH’s growth strategy. The alliance with B.TECH is considered DPI’s first venture into the Egyptian market. “The successful close of this transaction reaffirms the continued international interest in Egyptian retail and consumer plays,” said Moustafa El Chiati, Managing Director of EFG Hermes UAE. “As a leading consumer electronics distributor, B.TECH is set to benefit from this sector’s growth potential driven by Egypt’s large and young population and rising disposable income. We are optimistic that these factors will carry forward into 2017 the significant global interest that we witnessed during the past two years,” El Chiati added.  This is the sixth transaction that EFG Hermes Investment Banking has managed since the beginning of the year. The division’s transactions, valued at approximately USD640 million included two IPOs totalling USD168 million for dairy-maker Domty and healthcare firm Cleopatra Hospital Company. B.TECH is Egypt’s largest organized retailer and distributor of household appliances and consumer electronics with over 67 stores nationwide and is Egypt’s sole authorized distributor of a number of global brands. The EGP300 million investment follows B.TECH’s outlay of EGP60 million in 2015 to enhance its operations.  Dr. Mahmoud Khattab, Chairman and CEO of B.TECH commented: “B.TECH has grown over the last ten years to become the leading household appliances and consumer electronics retailer in Egypt with a distribution platform that is second to none. B.TECH’s unique integrated business model offers a strong value proposition to its customers in terms of product range, affordability and accessibility across the country, both offline and online. The conclusion of this partnership reflects the remarkable work accomplished by our team and highlights the potential of B.TECH to accelerate its growth in Egypt and Africa.”  Dr. Khattab added, “The transaction demonstrates the resilience of the Egyptian economy and the strong fundamentals of the Egyptian consumer and retails markets; driven by a growing young middle class.”  “This private equity investment is geared toward the implementation of B.TECH’s forward-looking growth strategy that will see improvements to the supply chain and IT infrastructure, the opening of new stores and the launch of new products and services,” revealed El Chiati. “Our team led the negotiations on behalf of B.TECH and actively contributed to the framework that will govern this partnership in the forthcoming years.” EFG Hermes Investment Banking was sole financial advisor to B.TECH; Zulficar & Partners and White & Case acted as legal advisors.​