ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, January 18th 2012 [ME NewsWire]
Abu Dhabi Capital Management (“ADCM”) today announces the intention of
Qannas Investments Limited (the “Company” or “Qannas”) to apply for the
admission of its shares to trading on AIM, a market of the London Stock
Exchange Plc ("Admission"), and to proceed with an initial offering by
way of a placing of its ordinary shares to institutional and other
investors.
The Company will take the form of a newly-established, closed-ended
investment company incorporated in Jersey and regulated by the Jersey
Financial Services Commission. ADCM, an alternative investment
management firm based in Abu Dhabi, will act as investment manager to
the Company.
Qannas will seek to generate a target IRR of at least 20 per cent by
investing in a diversified portfolio of undervalued equity and debt
investments, with a focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries.
Highlights
· Opportunity to invest in undervalued GCC assets through a
manager (ADCM) with a track record in the target region. It is currently
intended that the Company’s investments will be held for 3-5 years with
the intention of realising values in line with the anticipated economic
recovery.
· Optimal capital use: the capital raising programme is designed
to minimize cash drag. Qannas intends rapidly to deploy the proceeds of
the IPO and subsequent capital raises to a maximum of $200m. Investors
will have full pre-emption rights but will have no obligation to
participate in future capital raises.
· Fee structure designed to align the interests of the investment manager with those of the shareholders.
Qannas Chairman Chris Ward commented, “We believe that this is an
under-invested region with strong credentials, including strong economic
growth rates and a wealth of natural resources: GCC countries hold 35
per cent of the world’s known oil reserves and 22 per cent of global gas
reserves. Liquidity dislocation in the region has led to declines in
asset values, creating compelling investment opportunities. Qannas
offers a rare opportunity for international investors to access these
markets and tap into the expertise of a manager with specialist local
knowledge.”
Investment strategy
The Company’s investment strategy is to utilise ADCM’s investment
expertise to acquire assets at a discount to their intrinsic value from
vendors who are either distressed or seeking to re-position their
investment portfolios. It is intended that the Company will invest 80
percent of its capital in the GCC region with the balance utilised
opportunistically on a global basis.
Board
The Qannas board will consist of four directors: three independent
directors and Jassim Alseddiqi, CEO of ADCM. It will be chaired by Chris
Ward.
Investment Manager
ADCM was established in January 2011 and currently manages more than
$100 million in assets for institutional and high net worth investors,
deployed in private equity and debt investments. The ADCM investment
team, which is based in Abu Dhabi, is led by Jassim Alseddiqi and
comprises six investment professionals with a total of more than 40
years of investment management and finance experience.
Advisers
Deloitte is acting as Nominated Adviser to the Company and Daniel
Stewart & Company as broker. Appleby has been appointed as Jersey
legal adviser, and Herbert Smith LLP as English law adviser. BDO is the
auditor and reporting accountant. Appleby Fund Administrators (Jersey)
Limited will act as administrator and custodian.
Contacts
Tanya Kassab / Sophie Wood
+971 4 455 6151 / +971 4 455 6152
Tanya.kassab@eurorscgme.com/ sophie.wood@eurorscgme.com
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