Growthgate Capital Corporation acquires 49% of E-Freight International
GrowthGate Capital Corporation, the newly established Bahrain-incorporated buyout firm, has announced the execution of a final sale and purchase agreement to acquire 49% of the capital stock of E-Freight International, a leading logistics, warehousing and freight forwarding company based in the UAE. The amount of this purchase was undisclosed as both parties are privately held companies. The investment by GrowthGate in E-Freight will be in the form of a capital increase to secure the company with growth capital and expansion finance.
GrowthGate, a specialized buyout firm with a ‘roll-up’ private equity model, focuses on acquiring local, successful businesses in the GCC and turning them into regional champions through a series of well selected acquisitions in specific, growth orientated sectors. GrowthGate is managed by KeyStone Equity Partners, a dedicated firm of professionals and seasoned financiers with extensive experience in transactional banking in the Middle East region.
"We are truly excited in taking this strategic step of acquiring a major stake in E-Freight International," said MR. Karim Souaid, Managing Partner of KeyStone Equity Partners. “They have a proven track record of excellent service in addition to their long term visionary plan to expand and cover international markets such as Asia, Europe and the Mena region.”
Founded in 2002 by a group of senior executives from the freight and logistics industry, E-Freight developed into one of the leading air transport and freight forwarders in the Middle East. With operations in Sharjah, Jebel Ali and the Dubai Free zone in addition to special logistics support and fright service in Afghanistan, E-Freight is on an unparalleled growth path that has seen its revenues soar from AED 85 million in 2005 to AED 194 million in 2006 while realizing significant net margins.
We are currently implementing an aggressive strategy to acquire freight, express courier and logistics companies throughout the Gulf, Asia, the Near East and Africa” Said Abdallah Yacoubi, Chief Executive Officer of E-Freight International. “ Within the next 2-3 years we are aiming to have completed our carefully planned expansion drive that would see its footprint reach no less than 50 markets with operations spanning from warehousing management, to freight forwarding, express courier, postal and remittances services”
E-Freight’s management is set to develop the company into a fully-integrated logistics and transport outfit to capitalize on the massive opportunities in global trade and transshipment of goods between the key markets of Asia and Europe via the Gulf.
About GrowthGate:
GrowthGate Capital Corporation, a privately held company is a buy out firm structured as an investment holding company. We have the focus on several sectors (oil and gas, banking, logistics and transport, telecoms-related assets) without being locked into one particular area. That provides diversification within a focused approach thus avoiding both concentration risk and a blind-pool approach. GrowthGate is managed by KeyStone Equity Partners, a dedicated firm of professionals and seasoned financiers with extensive experience in transactional banking in the Middle East region.
