Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo acts for Rawasy

Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo office, advised Rawasy, a new real estate joint venture established by the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr, in connection with acquiring real estate assets in Talaat Moustafa Group’s (TMG) Madinaty compound for a purchase price of approximately EGP 9 billion. Additionally, Baker McKenzie Cairo supported Rawasy in entering into a long term Operation and Investment Agreement with TMG for the operation and investment of these assets on behalf of Rawasy with a guaranteed return.

The acquisition joint finance loan to Rawasy was divided into two tranches. The first part of the loan was from Banque Misr, Al Ahly Bank and Banque Du Caire to finance the purchase of assets from TMG related to the Craft Zone Project in Madinaty. Such assets are handed back to TMG for operation and investment under an Operation and Investment Agreement. The second part of the loan was in the form of a discounting facility against checks from Nour City owned by TMG. The aggregate amount of both tranches is approximately EGP 9 billion.

Commenting on this unique transaction, Mohamed Ghannam, managing partner and head of projects at Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo said, “This landmark transaction highlights our expertise in implementing innovative financing structures and real estate deals that meets market developments, and showcase our ability to work in close collaboration with our client. We are pleased to have been successfully able to close the deal, which is considered to be one of the largest real estate financing deals in Egypt, while drawing on our strong real estate and project financing capabilities.”

The Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo team that worked on the deal consisted of managing partner Mohamed Ghannam, partner Lamyaa Gadelhak, counsels Mostafa Lotayef and Mohamed Hafez and senior associates Ghada El Gharib and Milad Fayez.

Moreover, earlier in May 2021, Baker McKenzie Cairo team had also closed another deal for Rawasy advising the real estate development company on the acquisition of real estate assets in TMG’s Madinaty and Rehab residential cities for a purchase price of EGP 1.7 billion. The team had also provided Rawasy with legal advice on the entering into a long-term Operation and Investment Agreement with TMG for the operation and investment of these assets on behalf of Rawasy with a guaranteed return, as well as on obtaining a loan of 2.1 billion EGP from Banque Misr and NBE to finance the purchased assets from TMG related to Craft Zone Project in Madinaty.