Waha Capital, the only Emirati company to win at the prestigious M&A Advisor Awards this year

Abu Dhabi, May 24, 2015: Waha Capital, a leading Abu Dhabi-based investment company, has won the "Cross border deal financing of the year" award from US-based The M&A Advisor for its sale of Aercap Holdings NV shares. This announcement follows another award that the company received from Banker ME for the same transaction.

Waha Capital carried out a hedging and financing transaction in two phases in 2014 on its stake in the world's largest aircraft leasing firm, AerCap Holdings NV. The company effectively locked in the value of its AerCap stake by limiting downside equity market risk while preserving significant upside potential, and raised $1.1 billion (approximately AED 4 billion) in financing to be deployed in further investments and repayment of debt.

The award, presented to Waha Capital at The M&A Advisors' 2015 Awards Gala in New York, was held in conjunction with the 2015 International Financial Forum and featured over 300 of the world's leading cross border M&A professionals. Since 1998, The M&A Advisor, headquartered in New York, and with offices in London, has been presenting, recognizing the achievement of and facilitating connections between the world's leading mergers and acquisitions, financing and turnaround professionals.

Commenting on the award and transaction, Salem Rashid Al Noaimi, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Waha Capital said: "We are delighted to have received the Cross-border deal financing of the year award and honoured to have been the only company in the UAE to have received this recognition.  The hedging and financing transaction not only reduced risk in our portfolio by locking in the value of our stake in AerCap, it also generated significant funding, providing us with a robust platform and capital for future growth. This transaction marked a milestone year for Waha Capital, helping us generate the highest earnings in our company's history. I am especially pleased that the efforts of our talented investment team have been recognized by a prestigious and reputable organization such as The M&A Advisor." 

Waha Capital manages a portfolio of direct investments across a number of sectors, including aircraft leasing, financial services, healthcare, energy, infrastructure and industrial real estate.

The company looks to take majority stakes, when possible, in businesses operating in high potential sectors, occasionally in collaboration with co-investment partners.

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About Waha Capital
Waha Capital is an Abu Dhabi-based publicly listed investment company, whose aim is to deliver attractive and sustainable returns to its shareholders by deploying and managing capital in areas where the company sees opportunity and can add value. Waha Capital is active in Principal Investments, Capital Markets and Industrial Real Estate.  The company's portfolio consists of direct investments across a number of sectors which include aircraft leasing, healthcare, consumer finance, energy, infrastructure and industrial real estate. Waha Capital operates at the heart of a strong business network in the United Arab Emirates and the broader Middle East region, and enjoys a close affiliation with some of Abu Dhabi's most prominent investment and financial institutions.  Waha Capital's institutional shareholders include Mubadala Development Company.

For more information, please visit www.wahacapital.ae

For further information, please contact:
Dana Chehayeb
Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications
Waha Capital
Dana.chehayeb@wahacapital.ae
T. +971 2 667 7343
D. +971 2 403 9378

© Press Release 2015