|
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 4, 2012—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a financial package of $17 million to Smart Energy Solutions (SES), a Dubai-based power generation company, to help address temporary electricity shortages in many conflict-affected countries.
As part of the package, IFC will provide a loan to SES while acquiring a stake in Jolt Holdings, the owner of SES and a subsidiary or Gulf Capital.
The IFC financing will help the company expand into frontier and post-conflict countries in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia, where power outages often cut into productivity and hamper economic growth.
“The structure of IFC’s financing was tailored to the company’s needs and will help SES to achieve its ambitious regional expansion plans,” said Walid Ishak, co-founder of SES. Co-founder Ghassan Ayoub added that the agreement is a strong demonstration of IFC’s confidence in the company and its future plans.
SES builds and rents a wide range of power generation systems, which provide governments and businesses with short-term solutions to energy shortfalls, giving states time to implement efficient, long-term solutions. The power rental industry has seen dramatic growth over the last five years, with governments under increasing pressure to provide greater access to electricity.
“The IFC loan and equity subscription will help SES to finance its expansion across the Middle East and Africa and to position it as a premier provider of temporary power rental solutions in the region,” said Karim El Solh, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Capital. “We are proud to be partnering again with IFC on this exciting investment.”
Mouayed Makhlouf, IFC Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “This investment fits with our strategy of helping companies based in the Gulf expand into the less developed economies of MENA, transferring knowledge and technology, thus contributing to regional economic integration and economic growth.”
The initiative is part of IFC’s efforts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to improve infrastructure services and encourage investments between regional countries. During the 2012 fiscal year, which ended in June, IFC facilitated the investment of $430 million in infrastructure projects across MENA.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
Stay Connected
About SES
SES is headquartered in Jebel Ali free zone, Dubai, UAE. The company operates through two major lines of business, Power Projects and Flow. The Power Projects business specializes in the rapid deployment of turnkey power generation solutions coupled with comprehensive operation and maintenance services and ultimately the sale of reliable and efficient power to utilities, governments, armed forces, oil companies, and mines. The Flow business specializes on the rental of lower capacity power generation equipment. SES currently operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, and Tanzania. For more information please visit
www.sesrent.com
About Gulf Capital
Gulf Capital is a leading alternative asset management firm. Its investors are focused primarily on investing capital in the GCC region. Incorporated in Abu Dhabi in 2006 as a private joint stock company, Gulf Capital was established with a capital base of 1.225 billion Arab Emirates Dirham from 300 of the most prestigious institutional and individual investors in the Gulf. Gulf Capital investors are focused on acquiring sizeable and majority stakes in highly profitable and rapidly growing companies within a select number of fast-growing industries in the GCC region. Gulf Capital expanded its alternative asset management platform by entering into the real estate development arena in a joint-venture with the Related Companies, the most prominent US real estate developer, to form Gulf Related. The firm also launched a Credit and Mezzanine Business to meet the financing needs of fast growing companies across the region. With its private equity, real estate and credit initiatives, Gulf Capital is today one of the largest alternative asset managers in the Middle East. For more information, please visit:
www.gulfcapital.com
.
|
