Gulf Capital acquires 82.7% of Sakr Energy Solutions FZCO, a leading provider of power generation solutions, catering to the growing need for temporary and medium term energy solutions across the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia
23 Jan 2012
Gulf Capital, one of the largest and most active private equity firms in the Middle East, announced today that it has acquired an 82.7% stake in Sakr Energy Solutions FZCO (SES), a leading provider of temporary power generation, to capitalise on the growing need for power across the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.
SES operates in a growing region with a booming population, yet with inadequate power generation infrastructure and deep structural power supply/demand imbalances. The demand for temporary power significantly outstrips supply and this shortfall is expected to increase over the medium to long term on the back of a booming population, especially in the Middle East North Africa South East Asia (MENASA) and Africa regions. The global deficit in power generation increased from 50,000 MW in 2004 to 150,000 MW in 2010, most of which remains unmet and the deficit is expected to grow to 600,000 MW by 2015. This presents SES with a significant opportunity to grow in the medium and long-term.
SES is headquartered in Jebel Ali free zone, Dubai, UAE and was launched in July 2007 as a result of a carve-out of the Middle Eastern assets of GE Energy Rentals (following its acquisition by Aggreko). SES’s founders were the current senior management led by Mr Walid Ishak and Mr Ghassan Ayoub and Sakr Holding, a group of companies specialising in manufacturing power generation sets as well as implementation of turnkey power projects. Since its foundation, Mr Walid Ishak and Mr Ghassan Ayoub have successfully led the company and expanded its footprint to cover the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, and Tanzania.
Commenting on the successful investment, Dr Karim El Solh, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Capital said: “We are pleased to have acquired a controlling stake in Sakr Energy Solutions FZCO, a leading company in the temporary power industry in the region. The power sector represents a resilient and rapidly growing sector, not only in the MENA region, but also in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This investment follows our strategy of investing in defensive and fast growing sectors that benefit from the regional population growth, governmental infrastructure spending and rising GDP per capita. Gulf Capital’s portfolio of private equity investments now comprises an array of defensive investments in the water, power, healthcare and education sectors. Our long-term goal for SES is to finance its expansion across the region and to position it as the premier provider of temporary power rental solutions in the Middle East and Africa.”
Mr Walid Ishak, co-Founder of SES, said: “We are excited at the prospects of the new partnership with Gulf Capital. As SES embarks on an aggressive regional expansion, the funding and support of Gulf Capital will be instrumental in helping us achieve our ambitious expansion goals. With this new institutional backing, SES will emerge as one of the best funded operators in the sector, able to supply more power to existing and future customers across the region.”
Mr Richard Dallas, Managing Director Private Equity at Gulf Capital said: “The SES investment gives Gulf Capital exposure to the growing and defensive power sector. SES is ideally positioned to help regional utilities in the GCC to meet their peak power requirements during the summer and to act as a reliable power supplier to countries, remote areas and construction developments with base load requirements. Gulf Capital will work closely with management on expanding this platform across the region via organic growth and acquisitions. Scale and geographic diversity are key to long-term success.”
Mr Ghassan Ayoub, co-founder of SES, concluded: “We are excited about the positive impact that Gulf Capital will have on our growth prospects. We look forward to their active participation in our board and to their help with financing, strategic relationships, and regional expansion. Gulf Capital’s investment in SES is a strong demonstration of their confidence in our operation, strategy and our future growth plans.”
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