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Wednesday, December 2 - 2009

Abraaj Capital to become the largest single shareholder of the leading investment bank EFG- Hermes Holding

  • United Arab Emirates: Monday, September 04 - 2006 at 07:55
  • PRESS RELEASE

At an Extraordinary General Meeting the shareholders of EFG-Hermes approved the subscription to 25 per cent of EFG-Hermes Holding stock by Abraaj Capital.

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  • Arif Naqvi, CEO and Executive Vice-Chairman of Abraaj Capital.
    Arif Naqvi, CEO and Executive Vice-Chairman of Abraaj Capital.
The resolution received a 99.9% endorsement. With this deal, Abraaj Capital will become the single largest shareholder in EFG-Hermes and will have proportionate representation on the board of EFG-Hermes.

Abraaj Capital will subscribe to 97,074,010 of common shares of EFG-Hermes by way of a capital increase exclusively issued in favour of Abraaj Capital at a price per share of EGP 30 in a transaction valued at EGP 2.9 billion (USD $506 million).

Commenting on the occasion Sheikh Abdulrahman Ali Al Turki, Chairman Abraaj Capital said, "This investment is being directly made by Abraaj Capital, which increased its capital to US$ 1 billion as part of the transaction. Major regional and international institutional investors participated in the capital increase, which was completed in record time, a strong sign of endorsement in the company and its future plan".

Arif Naqvi, CEO and Executive Vice-Chairman of Abraaj Capital, said:

"We thank all the shareholders of EFG-Hermes for showing their faith in the alliance of Abraaj Capital and EFG-Hermes. This transaction is a strategic and long term investment for Abraaj Capital and it shows our confidence and commitment to the future of the Middle East. EFG-Hermes is widely regarded as the leading investment bank in the region and our strategy moving forward will be to catalyze and accelerate the regional development plan of EFG-Hermes to become the foremost integrated financial services institution in the region."


Abraaj Capital has a strong investor base throughout the region and abroad, including the largest and most progressive institutions, business groups and high net worth individuals in the Middle East. Recognized as the leading Private Equity firm in the region, Abraaj's management team has brought together some of the most compelling and successful transactions in the history of leveraged acquisitions across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asian region. With over US$ 1.5 billion of assets currently under management, Abraaj has pioneered private equity practice in the region. Having announced new funds - the firm will have US$ 4.0 billion of assets under management by year end- making it a leader in the industry.

Yasser El-Mallawany, Chairman and CEO of EFG-Hermes added, "We appreciate the continuous support from our shareholders. Our shareholders have endorsed the board's vote of confidence in Abraaj Capital. We all recognize the strategic value of Abraaj Capital's acquisition of 25% of EFG Hermes, making it the single largest shareholder in our company. The management teams of EFG Hermes and Abraaj Capital will now move swiftly to plan next steps in implementing our strategy of aggressively expanding our regional presence across all business lines.

At close of market on September 2nd, EFG-Hermes stock was trading at EGP 45.10- representing a 53% uplift compared to July 24th - date of Abraaj Capital's offer to acquire a 25% stake.
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Notes and media contacts

About Abraaj Capital:
The first pure private equity firm licensed to operate in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Abraaj Capital is the leading asset management firm in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia region. It has US$1.5billion of assets under management. The firm's primary expertise is in private equity buyouts, strategic minority block positions in public enterprises and real estate investments within the region. As a recognition of its operating excellence and regional expertise, Abraaj received the 'Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year' award from Private Equity International in March 2006. In addition, it has received the 'Best Private Equity House' award from the Banker Middle East in May 2006.

The executive directors of the firm have a long history of working together and are associated with some of the landmark private equity transactions in the region such as the acquisition and subsequent exit from Aramex, - the first and largest leveraged transaction in the region Inchcape Middle East and privatisation of Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Company (JorAMCo) by the Government of Jordan, for more information please visit www.abraaj.com

About EFG Hermes
EFG-Hermes is the Arab world's premier investment banking firm and the market leader in securities brokerage, asset management, investment banking, and private equity.

EFG-Hermes was established in 1984. In July 1998, EFG-Hermes went public with a USD 50 million GDR offering and now boasts a market capitalization of nearly USD 2 billion. EFG-Hermes is listed on the London and Cairo stock exchanges. Since 1997, EFG-Hermes has raised equity of approximately US$ 7.4 billion for its investment banking clients and advised on more than US$ 13.2 billion worth of M&A transactions. The firm advised major international clients such as Nestle, Kraft foods, American Express, Pepsi Co., Heineken, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., HSBC, and GlaxoSmithKline. EFG-Hermes has
offices in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Dubai and employs more than 500 individuals. For more information please visit www.efg-hermes.com

For further information, please contact:
Dina Al-Sonbaty
Executive Director
Corporate Strategy
EFG-Hermes Holding
Tel: +202 3318202

Tim Harrison/ Bakul Gala
ASDA'A Public Relations
Exclusive Affiliate of Edelman
Middle East & North Africa, Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-50-509-7631 / 050- 2459547 Fax: 971-4-3356080

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