Egyptian dairy tycoon Safwan Thabet at war with Qatari shareholder Baladna over Juhayna stake

Juhayna Food Industries, Egypt's largest dairy and juice producer, has locked out Baladna, the Qatari dairy giant that holds more than 15 percent of the company's shares, in a fresh ownership battle that adds a new international dimension to one of Egypt's most politically charged corporate sagas.

Africa Intelligence reported the lockout this week, describing a direct confrontation between Juhayna's founding Thabet family and its Qatari shareholder over governance and access. The specific terms of the lockout and the precise trigger for the confrontation were not disclosed in full detail, as the original report sits behind a paywall, but the development signals a significant deterioration in the relationship between Juhayna's controlling family and its largest minority shareholder.

Baladna, one of Qatar's most prominent dairy producers, began accumulating a stake in Juhayna in 2022 and 2023, steadily buying shares on the Egyptian Exchange until it crossed the 15 percent threshold, making it the second-largest shareholder after founder Safwan Thabet, who controls approximately 50.1 percent through his personal holdings and his Pharon Investments Limited vehicle. At the time of Baladna's most recent disclosed acquisition, in June 2024, the Qatari company expressed clear strategic intent toward the Egyptian market, describing it as a significant and promising food and beverage market with over 100 million consumers.

The two shareholders have now moved from strategic alignment to open conflict.

The Thabet family's ability to maintain control of Juhayna through a complex ownership and management structure has defined the company's survival through one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Safwan Thabet, who founded the company in 1983 after returning to Egypt from Saudi Arabia with a vision for a modern dairy operation, was arrested by Egyptian security forces in December 2020 on charges of funding a terrorist organisation, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt's government has designated a terrorist group. His son and company CEO Seifeldin Thabet was arrested in February 2021. Both were held for more than two years before being released in January 2023.

During their imprisonment, the family maintained operational control through a carefully constructed internal management structure involving employees closely affiliated with the family. Juhayna's shares fell sharply on both arrest dates but the company continued to produce and distribute across Egypt's dairy and juice markets without interruption. Thabet has consistently denied the terrorism charges, and human rights organisations including the Committee for Justice framed the arrests as part of a pattern of asset seizure pressure targeting businesses with perceived Muslim Brotherhood links.

With both Thabets now free and back in control, the confrontation with Baladna appears to represent a new phase of the family's effort to assert undisputed authority over a company they built over four decades. Whether Baladna pursues its minority rights through the Egyptian Exchange or through other legal channels, or whether the dispute resolves through negotiation, will determine how the latest chapter of the Juhayna saga concludes.