Global Investment House (Global) announced today that it has received two awards for its Private Equity Team. The first award went to Global MENA Financial Assets Limited (GMFA) under the category “Fund of the Year” in recognition of its structure, investment strategy and the size of its capital. The second award was for the Al Sawani Food and Industrial Supply Company deal under the category of “Middle Market Deal of the Year” due to its dynamic business model and vision, deal genesis, value addition and the array of market opportunities.
Mr. Amitava Ghosal, Assistant Vice President at Global and Mr. Nrupaditya Singhdeo, Assistant Vice President at Global received the awards from the media foundation “Terrapin” during the Private Equity World Awards- MENA 2008 Ceremony held at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel, Dubai on November 18th, 2008.
The Foundation granted Global the awards in recognition of Private Equity’s role in the development of the regional capital market as reflected in its innovative and offering an array of opportunities in investing in buyout and growth opportunities across the MENA including Turkey and South Asia.
This year has been an eventful year for Global’s Private Equity Team as the team set up a private equity permanent capital vehicle, Global MENA Financial Assets Limited (GMFA), focusing on the high growth financial sector of the MENA including Turkey. Its investment size is USD500 million, and has an average investment size of about USD30 to 50 million across 10 to 15 companies.
GMFA is the first permanent capital vehicle from the MENA region to be listed on the London Stock Exchange which invests in private equity assets. GMFA has a high growth diversified seed portfolio of financial market assets worth USD272.3 million transferred at USD238.8 million, translating to an attractive discount of over 12 percent.
Mr. Shailesh Dash, Senior Vice President and Head of Alternative Investments at Global stated, “Even in the current market conditions, especially for the financial services sector, GMFA’s IPO was subscribed more than 100 percent with interest from both the European and Middle Eastern investors. European investors primarily included financial institutions and pensions funds, while the latter’s interest came from business conglomerates and sovereign backed funds”.
The Foundation also granted Global’s Al Sawani Food and Industrial Supply Company deal the award under the “Middle Market Deal of the Year”. Established in 1976, Al Sawani is a forerunner in regional retail, and is among the first GCC businesses that adopted the franchising model. Al Sawani boasts 550 stores in the MENA region, and has built an impressive portfolio of 36 international brands, as well as its own private label brand.
About the company’s growth, Mr. Dash commented, “Al Sawani is planning to expand its store network, brand portfolio, and increase its penetration in the Middle East. Global’s Private Equity Team believes that with the favorable macroeconomic scenario, young population, changing lifestyles, and an increase in consumer spending, the Fashion Retail Sector is poised for sizeable growth.
Mr. Dash concluded, “These awards are a recognition of the role played by Global in the region’s Private Equity Market, and portrays the Team’s commitment to the investments and handholds its portfolio companies to achieve its vision. “
About Global Investment House “Global”
Global Investment House “Global” is a full-fledged investment company incorporated in 1998, and falls under the regulation of the Central Bank of Kuwait. Its underlying foundation is to meet the high expectations of local and international clients, and to enhance the investment service industry and the capital market in Kuwait and the region. Today, Global stock lists on the Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai and London Stock Exchanges. Global plays an important role in promoting investment opportunities in the MENA region to investors through expert financial engineering, in-depth research and reports to advance the capital market in the region. Thus, Global’s achievements have been recognized on local, regional, and international levels. The company’s current assets under management reached KD2.7 billion (USD 10.2 billion) by 30th September 2008.
