investment dar successfully completes sale of stake in al-madar finance and investment
Investment Dar Company K.S.C. announced today the successful sale of its entire stake in Al-Madar Finance and Investment Company K.S.C. (“Al-Madar”). The sale was conducted by auction at the Kuwait Stock Exchange Market (KSE) and run by Merrill Lynch, the first time an international institution manages such a transaction in Kuwait.
The bid process for Al-Madar commenced on 18th June, and successfully completed at 10 am today. The auction was won by Stehwaz Holding Company, which acquired 220,260,030 shares of Al-Madar Finance and Investment, thus 65.95 % of its capital at the price of 450 fils ( US$ 1.55) per share and a total value of KD 99,117,013 ( US$ 343.1 million).
Kuwait headquartered, Investment Dar, is the largest listed investment company in the Gulf. It owns and manages a group of multi-national and diversified companies in the banking, finance, investment and asset management, real estate, services, insurance, manufacturing, and logistics sectors. Investment Dar has a net profit of US$ 317.3 million in 2006. The Company’s per share profit stood at 48.3 cents*, while total assets reached US$ 3.66 billion and shareholders’ equity rose to US$ 1.06 billion. During 2006, Investment Dar's return on equity (ROE) was 37.9 % and the return on assets (ROA) stood at 10.6 %.
Al-Madar Finance and Investment Company was established in 1998 and is one of the leading providers of Sharia compliant equity and corporate finance related products and services in Kuwait and throughout the Gulf region. The company was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in June 2005. Al-Madar provides Corporate Finance and Real Estate Finance shariaa-compliant services. Its record include successful and diversified Finance Portfolio Management inside and outside Kuwait, as well as Real Estate activities.
* The Par value of one share is 34.6 US Cents as at 31 March 2007.
Within the framework of its plans to expand both in the region and on the international level,
Al-Madar set a series of markets indexes for shariaa-compliant markets at the local, regional and international levels. Al-Madar Finance and Investment also offers funds to match these indexes and is keen on further strengthening this activity through the increase of assets under management.
In 2006, Al-Madar Finance and Investment reported a net profit of KD 7.24 million (US$ 25 million), whereas shareholders’ Equity stood at KD 65.05 million (US$ 225.2 million) and total assets rose to KD 180.13 million (US$ 623.7 million).
Investment Dar Chairman of the Board of Directors, Managing Director and President Mr. Adnan Al-Musallam expressed content over the conclusion of the sale process.
He stressed that he was “pleased to confirm the successful conclusion of the sale of Investment Dar’s entire stake in Al-Madar Finance and Investment. We have benefited considerably from our involvement with Al-Madar Finance and Investment and are confident that the new ownership structure will benefit all parties, not least the shareholders of the business, specially that Al Madar proved itself in the Islamic Financial industry both locally and regionally ”.
He considered that “The completion of this transaction comes as part of Investment Dar's strategy that we are undergoing to restructure our business and exit from some of our current investments after achieving the desired objectives. It also confirms Investment Dar’s commitment to provide value to its shareholders by investing in and developing appropriate businesses such as Al-Madar.”
Al Musallam also expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of the transaction including the Kuwait Stock Exchange Market management, Merrill Lynch and Al Madar Finance and Investment Company. It mirrors the high skills and expertise of the team who worked on the deal and confirms Investment Dar group's strict commitment to the highest levels of transparency that was demonstrated at every step in this transaction.
Jeffrey Culpepper, Head of Global Markets and Investment Banking for MENA region at Merrill Lynch said the sale was “A landmark transaction and I am delighted that Merrill Lynch has become the first international investment bank to have facilitated such an auction in Kuwait. We are committed to developing our business in Kuwait and throughout the MENA region and it is extremely gratifying to have been involved in such a high profile project.”
