At an investment return of 2.4x money multiple, the EuroMena Fund has announced its successful exit from regional insurance power player Chedid Capital Holding (CCH). Marking the sixth exit and the second in six months for EuroMena I – the first of the EuroMena Funds – the exit transaction entails EuroMena Fund’s sale of its stake in CCH to Saudi-based Al Rashed Group affiliate company Rimco. The EuroMena Fund was advised on this transaction by BEMO Investment Firm Dubai, affiliated to BSEC – BEMO Securitization SAL.
“The EuroMena involvement has contributed to CCH corporate governance best practices and has strengthened the group strategic planning capacities,” said Farid Chedid, Founder and Chairman of CCH, adding: “We are delighted to expand the relationship with Al Rashed Group from a shareholding relationship in KSA to a more in depth global partnership”.
CCH operates insurance and reinsurance related-companies in nine countries spanning across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
regions. Supported by a 365-strong team of employees across the globe, Chedid Capital has extended its scope and operations to more than 35 countries over three continents. With the backing of the EuroMena Fund, CCH has successfully set up eight subsidiaries covering international markets including Sub-Saharan Africa. In July 2015, the CCH reinsurance brokerage arm was certified as a Lloyd’s registered broker.
With this sixth investment, EuroMena I has returned to date all its capital to investors while realizing attractive levels of return. Building on this strong exit momentum, the EuroMena Fund Management Team is eyeing the successful closing of three exits of its remaining investments in EuroMena I – forecasting attractive returns. By February 2016, the team projects exits from the leading IT software development company ITWorx; agro-business leader Wadi Holding; and packaging and paper production prominent player Wataniya.
Commenting on the success of the exit, Romen Mathieu, Managing Partner of The EuroMena Fund said:
“The EuroMena Fund has had a longstanding focus on value exchange and business growth. We believe in stretching the ambitions and goals of our companies as they expand their footprint and presence from local, to regional, to global markets.”
“The partnership between CCH and the Al Rashed Group will add tremendous value to both parties. The key objective of EuroMena upon its exits is to entrust its partners with the right candidate matching capabilities, mutual benefits and business opportunities to pursue the company’s growth strategies,” Mathieu added.
From his part, Abbas Al-Brahim, Executive Manager at Al Rashed Group, praised the new collaboration with CCH.
He noted: “We see very strong potential in Chedid Capital Holding’s expansion towards new market such as Turkey and North Africa, as well as developing further into new verticals and service offering. Under the leadership of Farid Chedid and the collaboration with Al Rashed Group, all the elements are in place to reinforce Chedid Capital Holding as a global player”.
Ali Mahmoudy, Senior Director of the EuroMena Fund, added:
“The journey of the EuroMena Fund with CCH was very successful, the result of a strong strategic partnership between EuroMena and the top management of CCH in identifying growth avenues while overcoming macro-economic challenges.”
The EuroMena Fund Management Team has raised more than USD 300 million to date from prominent investors, and has closed more than 20 investments and divestments. EuroMena III, its latest fund, had its first closing in October 2014 for a total consideration of USD100 million, backed by commitments of top tier institutions, High Net Worth Individuals, and family offices. Targeting a final size of USD 200 million by October 2015, the EuroMena Fund Management Team has been actively sourcing attractive transactions in the region and is expecting to close around three transactions by end of this year covering North Africa, West Africa, and Levant.