Egyptian Billionaire Nassef Sawiris Emerges as Top Adidas Investor

Egyptian billionaire and business mogul Nassef Sawiris has purchased a 6 percent stake in international sporting goods maker Adidas, making Sawiris the German brand’s top investor.

NNS Holding, a privately-owned investment group of which Sawiris is a director, disclosed the investment on Friday. According to regulations, an investment exceeding a 5 percent share in a listed company must be disclosed.

According to Bloomberg Business, Adidas’ shares have risen by 41 percent this year, making it the second-best performer in Germany’s DAX index. This positive performance comes after the company’s stock fell 38 percent in 2014 and stood as the DAX index’s biggest loser.

The Sawiris family is most widely known for being Egypt’s richest family and for owning the Orascom Group, originally founded by the family’s patriarch, Onsi Sawiris, in 1950.

After its booming success, Onsi decided to split Orascom Group into three companies, Orascom Telecom Holding, Orascom Construction Industries and Orascom Developments and Hotels. The companies are run by Onsi’s three sons, Naguib, Nassef and Samih, respectively.

In 2007, French cement company Lafarge acquired Orascom Cement, a subcompany in Orascom Construction Industries, in a deal worth $12.8 billion.

Nassef has an estimated net worth of $6.7 billion, according to the 2014 Forbes list and is the 240^th richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg Business. He is also Egypt’s wealthiest man.