Bahrain: Investcorp, a leading alternative investment firm, has announced the successful initial public offering (“IPO”) on the Indonesian stock exchange of its portfolio company PT Multitrend Indo, Mothercare Indonesia’s franchisee (“Mothercare Indonesia”). Mothercare is Indonesia’s leading baby and kids omni channel platform, operating more than 126 retail stores and distributing more than 21 brands including “Mothercare” and “ELC”. 
 
This is Investcorp’s first IPO on the Indonesian stock exchange and the 26th IPO in the Firm’s 40-year history. It brings Investcorp’s total IPO experience to nine exchanges having previously managed IPOs on the NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Helsinki, the Swiss Stock Exchange, Tadawul in Saudi Arabia, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the BSE in Mumbai.
 
With its footprint in more than 100 cities and 35,000 distribution points, Mothercare is well-positioned to benefit from the expected growth in the premium baby and kids sector, which is primarily driven by attractive demographics. Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world at around 280 million, 72 million of which are aged below 14. It also has one of the highest fertility rates in Asia with 4.3 million babies born every year.
 
Mothercare Indonesia’s IPO comes as Investcorp marks its growing commitment to Asia. The Firm currently has five offices across the continent with over US$1.2 billion invested in 40 portfolio companies. Globally, Investcorp has more than US$50bn in assets (including assets managed by third-party managers) under management across three continents and various asset classes and product lines. 
 
Investcorp Executive Chairman Mohammed Alardhi said: “Investcorp’s IPO experience and track record of successful listings across several different exchanges showcases our ability to take companies public. It has only been six years since we set up our presence in Southeast Asia in 2017 and we’re seeing great potential for business. Asia is a key engine of growth for our long-term plan”.  
 
Investcorp co-CEO Hazem Ben-Gacem said: “Mothercare Indonesia is an example of a company that is a market leader as well as a platform for growth that can deliver strong returns for our investors in the Gulf and elsewhere. The potential of our portfolio companies generates a very high level of investor interest and our portfolio companies’ listings are generally oversubscribed – an indicator of the robust fundamentals underpinning our businesses across our target geographies.”
 
Hitesh Bharwani, Co-Founder of PT Multitrend Indo, “We are very excited to become part of the wider Investcorp portfolio of companies. Starting in 2005, with our first store in Jakarta Indonesia, we’ve built Mothercare into a pre-eminent omnichannel play catering to the discerning needs of parents across a multitude of categories, channels and price points. With this listing, we are now at a very positive inflection point, poised to leverage these demographic trends even more strongly, through innovation, scale and consumer centricity. 
 
Investcorp’s focus on Asia mirrors greater wider Gulf interest in Asian markets and Indonesia in particular. The UAE recently implemented a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia, which is expected to lead to a significant increase in trade and investments between the two countries.