Gulf Expansion: New Offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi
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The Investcorp Newsletter Gulf Expansion: New offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi Plus: Corporate Investment Active period of sales and acquisitions, including the EUR 500 million sale of Armacell Feature Gary Appel on the Deal-by-Deal Model Real Estate Investment Investcorp’s extensive commercial property portfolio continues to grow New Joiners New head of Hedge Funds appointed - Lionel Erdely The Review | December 2013 2 Welcome Building on this momentum and philosophers and artists from around the capitalising on the market opportunities world, including 29 Nobel Prize winners. that exist for our firm, Investcorp As always, our close relationship with our continues to grow its physical presence investor base is central to the on-going in the Gulf, extending both its reach success of our business and we remain and client access. This physical growth focused on nurturing this loyal support has been matched by a robust financial via our growing office network and performance for our recently announced investor events. FY13, which has been driven by a series of exceptionally strong realisations As we look to the future, our commitment endorsing both our investment skillsets to create value remains steadfast and we whilst delivering attractive returns for our continue to return significant capital and his edition of The Review shareholders. bring unique investment opportunities with attractive returns to our clients. demonstrates that despite the In parallel, Investcorp has been honored Tbackdrop of slow recovery in the by a series of prestigious awards for our On this, our thirtieth anniversary, we look world economy, Investcorp’s business founder and CEO Nemir Kirdar. forward with more excitement than ever model has successfully adapted and He was awarded Euromoney’s Award for to working together with our clients for thrived, even in the most tumultuous of Outstanding Contribution to Financial generations to come. times. Our global Corporate Services in the Middle East as well as Investment teams are busy completing the internationally recognised Prize of Mohammed Al-Shroogi a series of transactions in the Gulf, Tolerance by the European Academy President, Gulf Business Europe and the US providing our of Sciences and Arts, which brings investors with what we believe are ‘best together over 1500 scientists, researchers, in class’ investment opportunities. Contents Real Estate Investment Knowledge Sharing Pages 14-15 Seminar Office and retail properties Page 17 among recent buys in the US. Investcorp host seminars for clients in Jeddah and Riyadh. Corporate Investments Conference Pages 4-11 Page 16 New Offices Page 18 A leading luxury retailer and a Investors and Shareholders marketing logistics company are conference in Bahrain. Gulf expansion with new among our latest acquisitions. Investcorp offices in Riyadh and Nemir Kirdar Wins Abu Dhabi. Feature International Awards Page 12-13 Page 17 New Joiners Page 19 The Re-Emergence of the Deal- Investcorp founder and CEO by-Deal Model, by Gary Appel. wins two prestigious awards. Strategic leadership appointments - Lionel Erdely and Gary Appel. The Review | December 2013 3 Letter from Nemir A. Kirdar Strengthening our relationships elcome once again. Investcorp continues to make Wgood progress in its mission. Over the last few months our firm has witnessed unprecedented levels of activity across the three key phases of our business: acquisition, placement and realization. Investcorp distributed $2.3 billion in proceeds to its investors and shareholders in the last twelve months. Fleetmatics, a company in which we originally invested in 2008 at a $100 million valuation, was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has recently been largely realized at a market capitalization of more than $1.0 billion. Building on these successes, we want to us as the Vice Chairman of Corporate We have also recently signed a definitive be even closer to our clients in the years Investment - North America. agreement to realize Skrill Group, Europe’s ahead. As announced, we have opened These appointments, and the wealth of largest online payment system, for a total new offices in the Gulf and expanded our experience that Lionel and Gary bring enterprise value of $800 million. Saudi Arabian presence. This enhanced to the business, will help to ensure that physical presence has been underpinned In Europe we acquired Tyrrells Potato Investcorp remains a highly respected by direct investor events on the ground. Crisps, an international business with a pioneer in alternative investments, These have been held in Saudi Arabia strong, worldwide customer base and, offering international asset and portfolio and Bahrain and will be an on-going in the US, Paper Source, Inc., a premier diversification to its investors. activity in the course of our calendar year. multi-channel retailer. Our world-class management team This success has been paralleled in the We have also strengthened our human remains dedicated to driving growth in Gulf where our Gulf Opportunity Gulf capital, and I am delighted to welcome each of our respective business lines while Fund I has proved to be a partner of Lionel Erdely and Gary Appel to the developing new types of investments and choice for family businesses. The Fund Investcorp team. remaining at the forefront of the asset class. has been particularly busy in Saudi Lionel joins us as our new head of Hedge Through its international franchise, our Arabia with three significant investments Funds after a distinguished career at business remains uniquely positioned for in Al Yusr Industrial Contracting Lyxor Asset Management and previously steady growth in our current financial year. Company WLL, Leejam Sports with its corporate parent, Société Finally, I would like to thank our Company J.S.C. and Theeb Rent a Car Générale Group. There he held the dual supremely talented staff for their hard Company. These bring our total regional position of Chief Investment Officer work over the last six months. I look investments in MENA to ten. from 2004 and Chief Executive Officer forward to 2014 with great optimism. Investcorp continued to play a dominant of Lyxor US from 2009. role in the region as a bridge for investors Gary Appel joins us after a thirty-year in the Gulf who seek attractive career in the private equity industry. investment opportunities in Europe and He was a founding partner of DLJ the US. We will work hard to retain this Merchant Banking and was most recently privileged position. the Vice-Chairman of Castle Harlan, Nemir A.Kirdar a private equity firm. Gary is joining Executive Chairman and CEO The Review | December 2013 4 Corporate Investment Investcorp’s retail brand track record now focused on Paper Source September acquisition set to support physical and e-commerce presence for industry- leading retailer. atering to customers seeking product offering and exceptional innovation and original designs, customer service. Investcorp will support C PaperSource sells a unique the management team as they seek to selection of fine and artisanal papers, continue to grow the Company’s store invitations and announcements, base and e-commerce presence.” personalized and distinctive gifts, gift “Investcorp is a highly complementary wrap, greeting cards, custom stamps, partner for Paper Source, with a track and a custom collection of envelopes record of growing strong retail brands,” and cards through its company-owned commented Sally Pofcher, CEO of Paper retail stores. Headquartered in Chicago, Source. “This transaction provides us Illinois, Paper Source operates 73 stores with a deep capital base to expand our across 23 states. domestic footprint and pursue direct Investcorp was attracted to PaperSource marketing opportunities, as well as as it is a perfect match for its strategy of a partner that has an established investing in profitable, industry-leading reputation for working effectively with companies with demonstrable growth management teams.” accelerators. As Kevin Nickelberry, a Managing Director at Investcorp, explains: “Paper Source is a market- leading retailer with a differentiated 5 Corporate Investment TheThe Review Review | December | January 2013 6 Corporate Investment The Review | December 2013 7 Paper Source continuing our portfolio of retail brands The Review | December 2013 8 Corporate Investment Getting fit in Saudi Arabia Partnering with Leejam Sports Company to expand Fitness Time. ontinuing our strategy of investing Leejam founder and CEO Abdulmohsen in quality businesses with Al Haqbanim, commenting on C growth potential in the region, Investcorp’s investment said “We are Investcorp’s Gulf Opportunity Fund delighted to be partnering with and deal by deal investors acquired a Investcorp, as we believe this will provide 25% minority stake in Leejam Sports our business with the additional resources Company J.S.C (‘Leejam’), Saudi Arabia’s and expertise to continue to strengthen leading health and fitness management our brand, consolidate our position in our company, which is behind the “Fitness domestic market and facilitate potential Time” brand. growth across the Middle East.” Leejam was established in 2007 by CEO and founder Abdulmohsen Al Haqbani. The company today employs over 1,400 people and operates over 62 locations currently in Saudi Arabia and 22 branches under construction (two of which are in Dubai). Fitness Time is currently the largest network of Sports and Fitness clubs in the Middle East. The Review | December 2013 9 Corporate Investment