Egyptian tycoon Ahmed Ezz loses $49.6 million from stake in Ezz Steel

Egyptian multimillionaire businessman and leading industrialist Ahmed Ezz has seen the market value of his stake in Cairo-based steelmaker Ezz Steel fall by EGP788.3 million ($49.6 million) in the past 40 days.

This follows the $35.3-million gain that he recorded between April 17 and May 7, when shares in the leading steelmaker soared to a price of EGP14.9 ($0.937) per share on the Egyptian Exchange.

According to the World Steel Association, a non-profit organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Ezz Steel ranks first in Africa and the Arab world, with a total output of 5.14 million tonnes, far ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Hadeed and Emirates Steel.

Ezz, who founded Ezz Steel in 1994, owns 60.7 percent of the company, or 329,816,198 shares. The market value of his majority stake in the Egyptian steelmaker makes him one of the country’s wealthiest men.

The multimillion-dollar drop in the market value of his stake can be attributed to a sharp decline in the steelmaker’s shares, as investors booked profits after the company’s shares recovered to EGP14.9 ($0.937) on May 7.

As of press time on June 17, Ezz Steel shares were trading at EGP12.51 ($0.79), up 16 percent from their closing price on May 7, as investors continued to sell stakes in the Egyptian company as part of a move to preserve wealth and reallocate funds to less risky investments.

The market value of Ezz’s stake has decreased from EGP4.91 billion ($309.14 million) on May 8 to EGP4.12 billion ($259.54 million) on June 17 as a result of the recent double-digit percent drop in the company’s share price and market capitalization.

This amounts to a total loss of EGP788.3 million ($49.6 million) for the multimillionaire businessman over the past 40 days.

Despite his multimillion-dollar stake loss, Ezz remains one of the richest investors on the local stock exchange.