Global Investment House, the Kuwait-based investment bank, has raised $500 million (€315 million) through an IPO for Global MENA Financial Assets (GMFA), a private equity fund listed on the London Stock Exchange. The official listing of shares will take place tomorrow.
The fund will be managed by Global Capital Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Investment House, which has a 29.99 percent stake in the fund.
GMFA’s initial portfolio will comprise of eight investments in financial institutions in the MENA region that it will acquire from Global Investment House. The portfolio is valued at $272.3 million as of 27 May 2008, and will be transferred to the fund for $238.8 million.
The remaining capital that has been raised will be employed to acquire either control or significant minority interests in unlisted companies and only controlling stakes in listed companies in the financial services sector in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. The firm said that up to 20 percent of the net asset value of the fund will be invested in other select emerging markets.
The fund is expected to be fully invested within 12 months, the firm said.
Shailesh Dash, managing partner of Global Capital Management, said in a statement that the funds have been raised from a range of investors from the Middle East and Europe.
Global Investment House itself listed on the London Stock Exchange in May this year, raising $1.15 billion through the issue of global depositary receipts (GDRs). The firm has also listed GDRs in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai.
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