• Home
• News Article

Ithmar Capital Takes up Mushrif Trading & Contracting's New Share Issue

Acquisition of 30m Shares for AED335m successfully completed
Dubai, UAE - Ithmar Capital , one of the region's leading private equity players, - has successfully completed the acquisition of the entire new share issue of Kuwait's Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company ( MTCC ), a leading GCC construction firm, with the transaction now complete.

Under the agreement, Ithmar Capital 's UAE affiliate Gulf Consortium 2 has acquired 30 million shares at a cost of approximately AED 355 million (approximately $ 97 million).

The use of the proceeds will allow Mushrif to further expand its business into the UAE market through acquiring major UAE construction businesses. Under a management and shareholding agreement between the two, Ithmar Capital/Gulf Consortium 2, now holds three seats on the MTCC Board of Directors.

The deal was signed at a meeting which was held at KAMCO (KIPCO Asset Management Company) offices in Kuwait by Khaldoun Haj Hassan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Ithmar Capital and Fahed Al Wazzan, Chairman of MTCC .

"This is a clear case of private equity delivering value to a highly successful company by helping it grow through acquisitions in the key markets of Kuwait, the Emirates and Qatar," said Haj Hassan.

The deal has provided additional management expertise to identify investment and expansion opportunities in premier marketplaces and the necessary capital to attain new strategy goals.

"The past year has seen MUSHRIF consolidate its presence throughout the Gulf and expand into the specialised marine construction, piling and foundation works, electro-mechanical and oil and gas sectors. The time is right to enhance these strategic efforts with a fresh era of growth," said Fahed Al Wazzan, Chairman of MTCC .

MTCC , a multi disciplined contractor, is currently executing projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait with an estimated value of AED 3.9 billion.

"Mushrif has extensive design and build capabilities across a range of civil, infrastructure, marine, oil and gas, environmental and industrial works and, through considered acquisition, can emerge as a serious competitor in the Emirates where ongoing public and private sector development has led to phenomenal growth within the construction sector," added Haj Hassan.

The deal also expands Ithmar's extensive portfolio into the GCC's important construction sector. " Ithmar Capital has a portfolio of investments in excess of $ 500 million, targeting growth capital and buyout opportunities in attractive sectors in the Gulf such as oil and gas, healthcare and education. MTCC is a strategic deal which demonstrates our interest to tap into the booming construction sector in the region," explained Faisal Belhoul, Founder and Managing Partner, Ithmar Capital .

Kuwait's KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO) acted as financial advisor for Mushrif in arranging the agreements with Allen & Overy and Bryan Cave acting as legal advisors to MTCC and Ithmar Capital respectively. Also present was Mr. Anthony Kyprianou, DGM, Financial Service & Investment Division representing KAMCO .

-Ends-

About Ithmar Capital
Ithmar Capital is a UAE-based regional private equity specialist, managed by a highly experienced team of focused leaders, with local and international expertise and connectivity. Ithmar Capital is to be the leading private equity firm in terms of conduct and return.

From its headquarters in Dubai and an office in London, Ithmar Capital targets exceptional growth capital and buyout opportunities throughout the GCC region and overseas, provided the GCC region represents a strategic market for overseas companies

Ithmar Capital is actively committed to using its unrivalled resources and international connectivity to strongly support the success of its portfolio companies.

With a focus on innovation, Ithmar Capital is at the cutting edge of its industry, always looking at new ways of adding value to its partners and portfolio companies.

Ithmar Capital is the first regional private equity specialist that has entered into a strategic alliance with global private equity leader - 3i. The partnership combines local and regional knowledge and a network with true global reach and expertise.

Ithmar Capital is currently managing Ithmar Fund I, a US $70 million fully-invested fund and Ithmar Fund II, which recently closed at US $ 250 million. Both funds follow a similar investment strategy and aim to achieve superior returns by capitalizing on new GCC based and overseas investment opportunities being generated by the surging regional economies.

About Mushrif Trading & Contracting Company
MTCC was established in 1968 and specializes in providing contracting and building services to key construction industry sectors in seven different countries from Saudi Arabia to Iran. The company now plans to concentrate activities on the Kuwait, Qatar and UAE markets.

MTCC is classified as a Grade 1 contractor with many public/private authority and has offices in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the UAE. Within Kuwait, the company also operates three subsidiaries holding a 99% stake in each. They are: Foundmar, a WLL company for foundation, marine works and contracting; Alliance Engineering General Trading & Contracting Company WLL for electro-mechanical - oil & gas and the Asphalt, Concrete and Steel Reinforcement works are under the CRT General Trading & Contracting Company WLL.

Over the past five years, MTCC 's revenues have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 28 percent while its assets increased 33.5 percent.

For further information, contact:
Maha Masri, IR & Marketing Director, Ithmar Capital
Tel: +971 4 282 5555
Barbara Saunders, MCS/Action
Tel: +971 4 390 2960

© Press Release 2007