CAIRO: La Mancha Holding S.a.r.l, owned by the Sawiris family, has announced the creation of La Mancha Fund SCSp, a Luxembourg-based billiom-dollar investment fund primarily focused on gold mining.
The company said the fund will manage assets worth more than $1.4 billion and is studying new opportunities.
The company indicated that the first closure of the fund was completed with the receipt of all the gold mining assets of La Mancha, in addition to an investment of $100 million from a partner who will invest alongside the Sawiris family.
The fund will be available to other investors at a later time.
“The step to establish an investment fund is the result of what we have been doing since 2015 when we sold our operating assets to Endeavour Mining in exchange for capital shares ... We anticipate many opportunities in the gold mining sector, which is still fragmented and needs more consolidation,” Naguib Sawiris, chairman of the board of directors of La Mancha, said.
“The fund ... will include a number of well-known personalities in the mining sector, many of whom have a long history of working with and providing advisory services to La Mancha,” he added.
“The fund’s primary investment objective is to create investment resources for the gold and precious metals mining sector. It will also have the flexibility to invest in electric car battery metals. It will invest primarily in a specific portfolio focused on long-term listed stocks, but it may consider investing a smaller portion of its assets are in private equity,” Sawiris said.
He said the fund will seek to acquire large stakes in small and startup mineral resource companies with strong management and geological capabilities that will enable them to create value within three to five years.
The strategy plans to unlock organic growth opportunities, launch value creation opportunities by developing long-term exploration plans, develop assets, and establish new mines and increase factory productivity.
The strategy includes enhancing and supporting accumulated external growth opportunities through acquisitions, regional mergers and exploring mergers with larger players.
One of the fund’s objectives is for its management to seek to improve environmental, social and governance standards within its portfolio companies during the investment period.
