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| Selected MENA Press Release |
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IFC Investment in Private-Equity Fund to Spur Growth in Middle East and North Africa
In Washington, D.C.:
Lotte Pang
Phone: + 1 202 458 0952
E-mail: LPang@ifc.org
In Cairo:
Riham Mustafa
Phone: +202 24 619 140
Fax: +202 24 619 145
E-mail: RMustafa@ifc.org
Washington D.C., May 13, 2009—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $25 million in the MENA
Joint Investment Fund, a $500 million fund that will provide private equity
to businesses in Egypt and other countries in the region to help strengthen
companies, spur economic growth, and create jobs.
The MENA Joint Investment Fund will
be launched by Citadel Capital, the Middle East and North Africa region’s
leading private equity firm. It will invest in seven to 10 mid- to large-size
platform companies in the region from diverse industries such as packaging,
waste management and recycling, textiles, agribusiness, and renewable energy.
The fund aims to create regional market leaders and support and develop
companies so that they can expand beyond their local markets.
“IFC continues to see exciting opportunities
in emerging-markets private equity as demonstrated by our investment in
the MENA Joint Investment Fund,” said Haydee Celaya, IFC Director for
Private Equity and Investment Funds. “Through this investment, IFC will
help regional companies in the Middle East and North Africa access finance,
while ensuring the adoption and implementation of corporate governance
best practice and environmental and social standards.”
This investment builds on IFC’s existing
relationship with Citadel Capital. In April, IFC invested $17 million in
another Citadel Capital sponsored fund, the Sphinx Turnaround Fund, which
targets smaller businesses with distressed assets in Egypt. Citadel Capital
will invest about $250 million in capital alongside the MENA Joint Investment
Fund, with a minimum equity investment of 10 percent in each company.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives.
We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting
private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory
and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments
totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous
year. For more information, please visit www.ifc.org.
About Citadel
Citadel Capital is the leading private
equity firm in the Middle East and North Africa. The firm focuses on building
regional platform investments throughout the region in selected industries
through acquisitions, turnarounds, and greenfields executed via Opportunity
Specific Funds. Citadel Capital's 19 OSFs now control platform companies
with investments worth more than $8.3 billion in 14 industries, including
mining, cement, transportation, food and energy. Since 2004, the firm has
returned more than $2.2 billion in cash to investors, more than any other
private equity firm in the region. For more information, please contact
Ms. Ghada Hammouda at ghammouda@citadelcapital.com
or visit www.citadelcapital.com.
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