HSBC is pleased to announce that it has been appointed to lead manage the upcoming private stock offering in the minimum amount of $500 million for GrowthGate Capital Corporation (“GrowthGate”). GrowthGate, a closed joint stock company under formation in Bahrain, is being established as a regional investment holding and buyout firm. GrowthGate will be dedicated to investing in privately held or thinly traded public companies that are principally located in the Arabian Gulf. The total authorised capital of GrowthGate is $1 billion and will be fully called up in subsequent rights issues.
Being an investment holding company, GrowthGate will not be constrained by a time limit to divest from its portfolio companies, giving each company the appropriate time to fully develop in value. Additionally, GrowthGate’s shareholders will have the option of listing the shares on a regulated stock exchange in the near to mid term future.
GrowthGate will be managed by a dedicated management entity namely, the ‘KeyStone Equity Partners’ which comprises a team of seasoned corporate financiers, bankers, and professionals who collectively have over 75 years of experience in transactional banking and direct investments in the Middle East region, and a track record of completed regional transactions in excess of $4 billion.
The offering is expected to commence some time in May 2006 and is anticipated to close prior to the end of June 2006. Norton Rose is acting as international counsel on the offering.
“This private placement will capitalize on the strength of the management team that has a first rate transactional track record in the region and the value enhancing strategy that looks to invest in local success stories, turning them into regional champions before realizing the investment value,” said Al Hassan Goussous, Head of Investment Services at HSBC Bank Middle East Limited.
Notes to editors
1. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has 30 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Autonomous Area, including an offshore banking unit in Bahrain. This extensive regional coverage is strengthened by another member of the HSBC Group HSBC Bank Egypt SAE, and by its associated companies, The Saudi British Bank and British Arab Commercial Bank Limited. In addition to its Middle Eastern network, the Bank has a representative office in Tehran, Iran.
2. HSBC Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets
HSBC Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets (CIBM) provides tailored financial products and services to major government, corporate and institutional clients. Within client-focused business lines, Corporate and Institutional Banking, Global Investment Banking, Global Markets and Global Transaction Banking, CIBM offers a full range of capabilities, including foreign exchange, fixed income, derivatives, risk advisory, investment banking financing, investment banking advisory, payments and cash management, trade services, and securities services. Further details can be found at www.hsbcnet.com
3. HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has been a principal member of the HSBC Group since 1959. Serving over 125 million customers worldwide, the HSBC Group has around 9,500 offices in 76 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$1,502 billion at 31 December 2005, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.
