Egyptian billionaire Sawiris sets up $1.4bn gold mining vehicle
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has set up a $1.4bn fund to hold his gold mining investments and pursue new opportunities in the sector, which he says is need of consolidation.
The Luxembourg-based La Mancha Fund will be a "deep value, long-only fund" dedicated to gold mining and open to new investors, Sawiris said. The fund will also invest in battery metals needed for electric cars.
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Sawiris said the fund would take stakes in some of these junior miners and encourage further consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. It will also seek to improve the environmental, social and governance performance of the sector and broaden its appeal.
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The fund will hold Sawiris' stakes in Endeavour Mining, the largest gold producer in West Africa, as well as Evolution Mining, Golden Star, and Altus Strategies. It also includes a $100m investment from "a strategic partner", who was not named.
The fund will look to buy "significant stakes" in junior mining companies with "strong managerial and geological potential to implement a 3-to-5-year value creation strategy," it said.
It will also look to improve operational efficiency of mining operations and help companies expand through exploration and new mines. It will be supported by an advisory committee made up of mining professionals that will be chaired by Sawiris.
See the whole article on the FT here: https://www.ft.com/content/5cc8e9a5-3c2a-40a0-b795-e526dbb31104
