Post by Sapphire Capital on Jul 14, 2008 1:53:17 GMT 4
Following a UBS statement issued on July 8 announcing it would set up operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, MerchantBridge confirms it acted as arranger to the deal, which allows the global investment bank to expand significantly its Middle East activities. Eric le Blan, Partner at MerchantBridge, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the newly-created entity, UBS Saudi Arabia.
MerchantBridge is a private equity firm investing in the Middle East which specializes in originating, structuring, executing and closing private equity and direct investment transactions.
Merchant Bridge is a partner of Development and Management House for Investments (“DMHI”) based in Riyadh, which has revoked its licence as part of the process. DMHI was granted an Investment Services License in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in May 2006 and offered corporate and project finance advisory, equity and debt capital arranging in Saudi Arabia.
Commenting on the news, and on his appointment as a Director to UBS Saudi Arabia, Eric le Blan jointly with Samir Arab, MerchantBridge’s Partner in Dubai, commented: “MerchantBridge are delighted to have advised and negotiated with UBS and are very pleased to have assisted with their entry into the Saudi market - it gives us great pleasure to offer our deep expertise in this region to such a world-class outfit. MerchantBridge is one of the few Middle Eastern operations that can advise at the highest levels between Middle Eastern and Western markets, today’s announcement and UBS Saudi Arabia’s creation is testament to our abilities. We very much look forward to working with UBS Saudi Arabia and bringing prosperity to the new entity.”
About MerchantBridge:
MerchantBridge is an private equity firm investing in the Middle East which specializes in originating, structuring, executing and closing private equity and direct investment transactions. With offices in London, Luxembourg, Baghdad, Riyadh and Dubai, it is one of the few Middle Eastern financial operations that can advise successfully on cross border financing between Middle Eastern and Western markets as well as cross-border within the Middle East.
MerchantBridge was established in 2002 by a team of senior bankers with the aim of providing a genuinely “tailor made” financial services to investors in the Middle East region and is jointly owned by its management and prominent financial investors from the Middle East. The UK office is regulated and authorized by the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority (FSA).