Sunday, Mar 25, 2012
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Riyada Enterprise Development, a $650 million private equity fund owned by Dubai's Abraaj Capital, Sunday said it intended to buy half of The Entertainer, a consumer services firm that sells books containing two-for-one discount vouchers in the Arab Gulf and Cyprus.
"We believe that this investment will serve to accelerate The Entertainer's expansion, not only in the Middle East and North Africa region, but also in Asia where there are tremendous growth opportunities," Tom Speechley, Riyada's chief executive, said in an emailed statement.
Riyada, which invests in small and medium-sized companies, did not say how much it would pay for the Entertainer stake. The fund's investments are typically between $500,000 and $15 million.
Abraaj, the Middle East's biggest private equity firm, formed its Riyada division after an acquisition in 2009. It recently expanded further into small and medium-sized businesses through its acquisition this year of Aureos Capital, which gave it a foothold in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The Entertainer was founded in 2001 in Dubai. It publishes books of vouchers in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Cyprus. The vouchers can be exchanged for deals on meals, hotel stays and other activities.
-By Asa Fitch, Dow Jones Newswires, +971 4 446-1685, asa.fitch@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
25-03-12 0817GMT
