EFG Hermes has concluded its advisory on the £288 million worth Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Helios Towers, a telecom tower infrastructure company, on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The development has earned the company another feat in the equity capital market transaction for the group’s Frontier platform as it is expected to maintain its leadership across Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM).
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Helios Towers, which owns and operates telecommunications towers and passive infrastructure across Tanzania, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo, and South Africa, operates more than 6,500 towers for the major African mobile network operators (MNOs)
With the IPO, Helios Towers offers 250 million shares, which represent 25% of the issued share capital to institutional investors, at an offer price of £1.15 with a total market capitalisation at £1,150 million.
Chief Executive Officer, EFG Hermes Frontier, Ali Khalpey, said, “With the successful conclusion of Helios Towers’ IPO, EFG Hermes once again demonstrates its ability to bookbuild and transact in frontier emerging markets with an unrivalled global distribution platform supported by world-class research, brokerage, and advisory services.
“Since the launch of the Group’s Frontier platform in 2017, we have expanded our direct presence to cover key FEMs across four continents.”
Meanwhile, the group has execution capabilities across more than 75 FEMs, representing all of the markets under the MSCI FEM index, with a direct presence in 13 jurisdictions serving global institutional investors, regional high-net-worth individuals, and retail investors.
“Our Investment Banking division has for years been the MENA region’s top-ranked ECM advisor by market share, with the Group consistently driving the region’s largest and most successful public offerings. The completion of today’s transaction is yet another example of our ability to leverage our extensive global client network and ability to attract substantial international interest in exciting equity stories,” Khalpey added.
He added that the Helios Towers transaction followed the successful offering of ASA International in 2018, which saw the group venture into frontier emerging markets for the first time.
With other transactions lined up for the coming months, the EFG Hermes Frontier boss added that he would be excited to see the firm’s presence in key frontier markets further expand as it solidifies the position as the go-to investment banking and advisory service provider in the FEM space.
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About EFG Hermes
With a current footprint spanning 13 countries across four continents, EFG Hermes started in Egypt and has grown over 30 years of success to become a leading financial services corporation with access to emerging and frontier markets.
Drawing on its proven track record and a team of more than 4,400 talented employees, EFG Hermes provides a wide spectrum of financial services that include investment banking, asset management, securities brokerage, research and private equity to the entire MENA region.
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