Unicorn Investment Bank embarks on USD 248.2m capital raising

Notes and media contacts

• A private placement of 82,000,000 ordinary shares in the capital of the Bank, representing approximately 38% of the total share capital of the Bank, assuming subscription is in full, to the following potential investors:
• 72,000,000 Shares to eligible new Institutional Investors and Retail Investors, representing approximately 34% of the total share capital of the Bank, at an Offer Price of US$ 3.10 per Share;
• 10,000,000 Shares to the Bank's existing Shareholders at an Offer Price of US$ 2.5 per Share.
• Institutional and Retail Investors are eligible to subscribe for ordinary shares.
• Minimum subscription for Institutional Investors is US$ 1.55 million (representing 500,000 ordinary shares), with additional shares in multiples of US$ 620,000.
• Minimum subscription for Retail Investors is US$ 155,000 (representing 50,000 shares), with additional shares in multiples of US$ 62,000.

About UIB
Unicorn Investment Bank was capitalized at US$ 111 million and commenced operations on May 5, 2004 in the Kingdom of Bahrain. UIB is a full service Islamic investment bank, with specialist teams operating in corporate finance and capital markets, private equity, asset management, strategic mergers and acquisitions and Takful (Islamic insurance). The bank currently has offices both inside and outside the Middle East, including the United States and Malaysia.

• In Quarter 1 of 2006, UIB has already achieved revenues of US$ 25.5m and earnings of US$ 16.02m.
• In its first eight months of business, UIB achieved revenues of US$ 36m and earnings of US$ 17.06m.
• UIB recently reported second-year revenues of US$ 52.6 m and earnings of US$ 24.2m for 2005 financial year.
• UIB has achieved a number of "firsts" in Islamic banking. In November, the Bank closed the "KSA Real Estate Fund-1", the first ever equity fund to allow non-Saudi nationals to invest in the growing Saudi Arabian property market via an innovative financial and legal structure.
• In December, UIB announced "Gulf Springs", the first pan-GCC real estate fund, in partnership with leading real-estate developers in each GCC market, who as founding investors, bring local knowledge and investment opportunities.
• UIB has recently closed "KSA MBS 1 International Sukuk," the GCC's first Sharia'h-compliant asset-backed security for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a debt product designed for home financing companies akin to a mortgage-backed security in partnership with a multilateral organisation and underwritten by a global institution.
• Since inception, UIB has now advised, structured and successfully placed deals with a total value in excess of US$ 1 billion.

Media contacts
Mark Lunn of Gavin Anderson & Co, London
Bahrain Tel: +973 17 566 000
UK Tel +44 (0) 20 7554 1400
UK Mobile: +44 (0) 7775 992 309