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Dubai: The Dubai Group has plans for more regional strategic acquisitions after acquiring a 5.24 per cent stake in Commercial International Bank (CIB) for Dh580 million, Tom Volpe, CEO of Dubai Group, told reporters during a teleconference on Monday.
CIB, a top rated bank in Egypt, has assets of about $11 billion. US buyout firm Ripplewood, the largest investor in Commercial International Bank, leads a consortium that owns 18.7 per cent of the bank.
Volpe said DCG has no plans to increase its stake in Commercial International Bank or seek a seat on the board of directors.
Dubai Group, a diversified financial services company belonging to Dubai Holding, has built up strategic stakes in 20 companies across the Middle East and has stakes in a similar number of companies across Asia, North America and Eur-ope.
The company said yesterday that it plans to make strategic acquisitions in financial services companies ranging from banks, insurance companies, Takaful companies and investment banks.
The latest acquisition in CIB was done through Dubai Capital Group, the regional investment management company of Dubai Group.
"This investment is in line with Dubai Group's long term strategic plan to capitalise on opportunities in the rapidly expanding Egyptian market, as well as empower the bank's capital base for further growth across the region," said Volpe.
Dubai Group has plans to invest in as many as five more financial services firms this year, the CEO said. Middle East based companies are the primary focus of the Group, he said.
Egypt is one of its favourite target markets in the region because of the huge market size and the growth potential.
The latest acquisition by Dubai Group, according to Volpe, is within the context of the core objective of Dubai Group to actively fulfil its role as the leading diversified financial services company of Dubai Holding.
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