Manama, 3 September 2015

Seera Investment Bank B.S.C.(c), a Shari'a compliant investment bank headquartered in Bahrain, announced today the sale of Kosan Crisplant ("Kosan"), a world leader in filling equipment for LPG gas cylinders, to a regional strategic buyer for DKK 424 Million (approximately €57 Million).

Kosan, headquartered in Denmark supplies equipment, plants and systems for filling and maintenance of LP gas cylinders and offers after-sales and engineering services, facility management, and supply of components for the gas industry. Since 1951, the group has supplied over 2,600 plants in nearly 130 countries all over the world.

Mr. Hamad Al Ameeri, Seera's Chairman of the Board of Directors commented "We are very pleased on the completion of the sale of Kosan.  When Kosan was acquired in 2008, no one knew the challenging times that lay ahead caused by one of the worst financial crisis in the global economic history. Like all businesses Kosan was also impacted.  However, with the dedication and hard work of the management teams at Kosan and Seera, the company successfully weathered this challenge and not only returned to strong profitability but is also on track for further substantial growth as a leader in the LP gas sector."

"We believe that this exit further reinforces  Seera's track record and credibility as a private equity investment manager who can work together with its investee companies in the most challenging times to turn it around and position it for a sustainable growth. The sale of Kosan to a strategic buyer, who also owns the biggest competitor of Kosan, is the right step in the company's development as the combined synergies will further strengthen the position of Kosan in the energy sector." Mr. Al Ameeri further added.

Mr. Abdulla Janahi, Seera's Chief Executive Officer commented "Despite the external economic challenges early in Seera's ownership, our private equity portfolio management team worked effectively and creatively with the management of Kosan to enhance the performance of the Company. As a result, revenues  and EBITDA have recovered significantly to beyond pre-crisis levels and Kosan is now much less susceptible to large contracts, the timing of which is inherently unpredictable."

On Seera's value addition he commented "Seera took a hands on approach to manage Kosan in close coordination with Kosan's management.  During this period several initiatives were undertaken and successfully implemented. Some of the key initiatives led by Seera's portfolio management team included increasing Kosan's focus on high margin spare parts and service segments to reduce dependence on the project based business and accelerating the migration of assembly operations from high cost European locations to Sri Lanka. During Seera's ownership several new products were launched by Kosan including Flexspeed, an industry leading solution for high capacity filling requirements and Fill1, an innovative low cost product aimed at emerging markets. During this period targeted acquisitions were also made by Kosan to grow into the large and fragmented engineered components distribution sector in Europe and concrete steps were taken by the Company to enter and grow in the very large LNG segment."

He further added "Seera's strategy is to invest in deals with strong fundamentals and in industries which are not highly cyclical. We place high importance on risk governance and focus on investments which meet our risk return tradeoff  and are within Seera's risk threshold in the foreseeable economic environment."

Seera's investment strategy is to maintain a diversified investment portfolio geographically and industry wise, focusing mainly on defensive sectors underpinned by strong fundamental demand.

-Ends-

This press release has been issued by Seera PR & Corporate Communications department.

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Shahzad Iqbal, Chief Operating Officer
e-mail: siqbal@seera.com

About Seera Investment Bank
Incorporated in 2006 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Seera Investment Bank B.S.C. (c) (Seera) is an Islamic Whole Sale Bank licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain with a paid-up capital of around US$ 146 million. Seera provides investment banking products and services in strict adherence to Shari'a rules and principles.

© Press Release 2015