Samena Capital, a premier investment group focused on principal investments in the Subcontinent, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, (collectively known as the SAMENA region), is pleased to announce the launch of the Samena Special Situations Fund II L.P. (SSSF II or the Fund), the successor Fund to its flagship Samena Special Situations Fund L.P. (SSSF I). SSSF II has a targeted corpus of US$700 million and has already received an enthusiastic response from its anchor investors, with commitments in excess of US$350 million. This reaffirms their faith in Samena's collective investment value proposition, as evidenced by the very successful track record of SSSF I, a strongly performing fund through turbulent global markets since its launch in 2008. SSSF I recently exited a number of its initial investments, including Eicher Motors, the leading Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer, that generated a return on investment of 5.4x in less than two years, SSSF I has therefore already repaid 20% of its capital to investors, well ahead of the anticipated timeframe.
SSSF II will follow a similar approach to SSSF I and operate through a seven year close-ended private equity style structure, leveraging the collective acumen of Samena's shareholders and seasoned investment team, whose business expertise spans the economic hubs of the Middle East, Asia and India. This structure allows the Fund to build strong minority stakes in listed companies that are stable mature businesses with high caliber management that can benefit from access to the broader opportunities that Samena Capital provides. The Fund will take positions through strategic block purchases, pre-negotiated deals and preferential issuance of equity. The significantly larger scale of SSSF II together with the addition of some of Asia's most prominent business personalities to the company's existing strategic shareholder group, will lead to greater co-investment opportunities across a range of industries and geographies to better maximise value creation from the profile and reach of Samena's shareholders.
Commenting on the launch of the Fund, Shirish Saraf, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samena Capital said, "I am delighted by the tremendous response of our anchor investors to the Samena Special Situations Fund II. Samena Capital is the successful embodiment of our unique investment philosophy, which brings together leading entrepreneurs from the world's high potential markets. We launch this Fund in the wake of extremely robust performance from SSSF 1 and our other close-ended funds and with strong momentum in the management company, bolstered by new shareholders and with an exemplary track record for transparency and corporate governance. We are the primary investment of some of the leading businessmen from the SAMENA region. This gives us a powerful foundation for future deal flow, value creation opportunities, generation of ideas and cross-synergisation of business networks."
V-Nee YEH, a Founding Shareholder and Chairman of Samena Capital notes, "In my opinion what differentiates Samena Capital is the way it stands at the vanguard of economic integration across the SAMENA region. We are at an inflection point in the way different regions trade and invest with each other and Samena Capital's shareholders have unrivalled access to and understanding of the most entrepreneurial businesses which benefit from that trend. This translates to significant value creation through an entirely new approach to investment and asset management. The second fund augments Samena Capital's reach, diversifies the proven alignment of business entrepreneurs and asset managers and re-opens the old Silk Route along which ideas and wealth were traded between Europe and the SAMENA countries in previous generations."
Samena Capital was established in 2008 by some of the most prominent valuepreneurs from the SAMENA region and uniquely capitalized with equity of some US$50 million. The founding shareholders have created prominent global businesses over the last decade and comprise some of the most influential businessmen, deal-makers, corporate leaders and asset management professionals. The core philosophy of its collective investment model is to bring together first generation valuepreneurs from the SAMENA region as shareholders and harness the synergies that emerge by combining their intellectual capital with the unrivalled track record of its management team. Samena Capital currently manages in excess of US$400 million across a range of close-ended fund structures and has regulated investments advisors in London (FSA and FII license) and Hong Kong (SFC license) and a research presence in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
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Contact:
Middle East & India
jack.hickey@fd.com
W: +44 20 7269 7196
M: +44 7738 198 941
Europe
paul.marriott@fd.com
W: +44 20 7269 7252
M: +44 7710 426 131
Asia (ex-Japan)
queenie.tsao@fd.com
T: +852 3716 9811
M: +852 9651 2423
Important Information
This document is directed only at, and contains information about products and services only available to, those who are Professional Clients or Eligible Counterparties as defined by the UK Financial Services Authority ("FSA"). The definitions can be found on the FSA's website at www.fsa.gov.uk. The information within this document is unsuitable for any party who does not qualify as a Professional Client or Eligible Counterparty. Samena Capital Management LLP cannot and will not conduct business with retail clients. If you are in any doubt as to whether you are a Professional Client or Eligible Counterparty, you should consult a financial adviser.
Investment information Past performance should not be used as a guide to future performance, which is not guaranteed. The value of an investment and any income from it may fluctuate and therefore an investor may not get back the amount invested. Prospective investors should be aware that returns over the short term may not match potential long term returns. The information contained herein has been obtained from or based upon sources believed by us to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. The information provided does not constitute advice or a personal recommendation for which the duty of suitability would be owed by us, and you should seek your own advice as to the suitability of any investment mentioned herein.
Detailed information about the Samena Special Situations Fund II L.P., including the risks associated with investment in the fund, is contained in the Offering Memorandum which is available on request.
Jurisdictions
This document does not constitute an offer, invitation or inducement to distribute or purchase shares or to enter into an investment agreement by Samena Capital Management LLP ("Samena") in any jurisdiction in which such offer, invitation or inducement is not lawful or in which Samena is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer, invitation or inducement.
This document has been issued by Samena Capital Management LLP which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority. Register number 483816. Samena Capital Management LLP is registered as a Limited Liability Partnership in England and Wales (No. OC335868). Registered Office: 21-22 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 4QJ.
© Press Release 2011
