Global Investment House appoints new partner for its private equity funds business in Egypt

The appointment follows the private equity funds business growth strategy and the desire to gain stronger foothold in the North African markets.

Currently, the private equity team funds has presence in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, which portrays the team's focused approach in providing clients with added value in different countries across the MENA region.

Mr. Shailesh Dash, Managing Partner at Global Capital Management Limited (GCML) (the alternative investment asset management arm of Global Investment House) said, "Our presence today in Egypt is part of the strategy to be on ground and expand in the North African region. This appointment reflects the importance of this market to us and shall strengthen our knowledge about the Egyptian market, enhance our deal sourcing and attain a close relationship to the fund's portfolio companies."

"In the beginning of this year, the North African markets saw significant upward movements especially Cairo and Casablanca markets by about 9.3% and 14.2% respectively. Though the markets have seen decrease in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and Consumer spending the financial sector has shown resilience to the current market trend. Therefore, we maintain our view in the region and find the economic dynamics as a magnet for investments," Mr. Dash said.

"Prior to joining GCML, Mr. Abdelsalam was a Partner in BDO Khaled & Co. (previously a member firm of E&Y) heading the consulting and advisory services with over two decades of experience across the financial services of 15 years in Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions as well as prior consulting experience in Washington, D.C., USA," he added.

Mr. Dash emphasized that Egypt's office is an important step towards empowering the private equity team's existence in the MENA region. Our investment priority would be in education, healthcare, logistics, finance and finance related sectors. We consider ourselves as one of the most assertive investment groups in any sector having a growth prospect and strong management team.

Mr. Abdelsalam expressed, "I am very pleased joining the company, being one of the leading alternative investments asset managers in the region. It is a honor to be part of implementing the company's strategy in Egypt and North Africa. I believe this is the right strategy at the right time and in the right location."

The private equity fund management team was formally defined in 2005 and today is one of the largest team in the MENA with about 50 well qualified professionals. The team has an aggregate work experience of over 300 years. The team currently manages $3.2bn through 5 private equity funds, namely, Global Private Equity Fund, Global Opportunistic Fund, Global Opportunistic Fund II, Global Buyout Fund L.P. and Global MENA Financial Assets Limited.

The team has already invested on behalf of the funds it manages about $1.5bn through 54 transactions across 11 sectors in Middle East and North Africa, Turkey, South Asia & China during past 4 years and has also successfully managed 15 exits generating an IRR of around 67% as of December 2008 for its existing investor base which comprises of international and MENA institutional investors.

GCML's achievements have been recognized at product and deal level through awards such as Fund of the Year for 2007 and 2008, as well as Private Equity Deal of the Year for 2008 by Terrapin.