Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) has finalized the sale of its stakes in two hotels and a land plot in its Makadi destination on the Red Sea coast, attempting to reduce its debt balance, Invest-Gate reports.

ODE has concluded the sale of Royal Azur and Club Azur Hotels, as well as a land plot in the Red Sea resort, at a higher enterprise value of EGP 856 mn rather than the EGP 823 mn earlier announced, the company said in a recent bourse filing on December 27.

The proceeds of selling the two hotels and the land plot in Makadi as well as of Tamweel Group, together with some of the excess cash flow from operations, will all be utilized in dwindling the debt balance, ODE underscored.

“This will result in total cash proceeds of EGP 408 mn (USD 22.8 mn) from EGP 387.1 mn (USD 21.6 mn) that [were] previously announced,” the firm added.

According to the filing, the sale will also result in the deconsolidation of EGP 260.1 mn of debt held on Royal for Touristic and Development Company, the former owner of the hotels.

“We are also in the course of finalizing the documents for the completion of the sale of the Makadi Gardens Hotel, which was sold for EGP 114.7 mn (USD 6.4 mn),” the developer confirmed.

Commenting on the transaction, Khaled Bichara, CEO of the company, said, “The conclusion of the sale is a solid testament to our continuous delivery of our strategy. Since the beginning of the year, the company has made significant strides to streamline and reshape its investments through monetizing its non-core assets.”

“We will continue to wisely invest our capital to drive growth and prioritize our time and resources to build a stronger and sustainable organization,” Bichara was quoted as saying.