Egypt’s richest man, Nassef Sawiris, and the crown jewel of his economic empire, chemical giant OCI, are once again undergoing a transformation. After piloting the Netherlands-listed group into one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers,
Sawiris, who has a net worth of $8.7 billion according to Forbes magazine, is mulling a radical business turnaround. He does not yet know where it will take him, but the Egyptian billionaire, whose investment portfolio includes the English soccer club Aston Villa and the sports multinational Adidas, is looking to redefine his future once again, remaining faithful to his family’s way of doing and understanding business.
One of the more drastic options being considered by the 63-year-old, who is also a member of J.P. Morgan’s international board, is to turn it all into cash and move into other sectors: further fragmenting his main holding company and selling off the parts to become a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). “We’re quite open-minded,
”he recently told the Financial Times, in a rare interview. “We always say that we are builders, not holders,” he added, in an apparent nod to his family’s business background.
