Dubai-headquartered private equity firm, ABRAAJ Capital has fully exited from the Oman National Investment Corporation Holding (ONIC) with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 85 percent.
The transaction took place on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSM) with Shua'a Capital – an investment bank listed on the Dubai and Kuwaiti bourses – purchasing the entire stake of 16.7 percent from Abraaj at a price of 4.75 Omani rials ($12.3) per share aggregating to over $20 million.
ABRAAJ Capital, with an investment base of over $150 million, had acquired shares of ONIC through its Buyout Fund early in 2003. ONIC was the first exit from the Abraaj Buyout Fund, which also includes investments such as Aramex, Amwal Capital in Qatar and Spinneys.
Executive director of Abraaj Capital Humayun Shahryar said that a number of further acquisitions are planned this year through the Buyout Fund. He added that the fund will be fully or at least substantially invested by the end of the second quarter of 2004.
Quoting interim results for the nine-month period to December 2003, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer of ABRAAJ, Arif Masood Naqvi, said that ONIC's earnings per share for the period went up to $1.88 compared to one dollar for the previous full year, and its share price rose 96 percent whilst the overall Muscat Stock Market rose 41 percent during this period.
Abraaj Capital is an investment firm that specializes in Private Equity Buyout investments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The firm also pursues follow-on investment opportunities in South Asia. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
