Spot of good Fortune for DIFX

02 June 2006

Swiss-based private equity firm Fortune Management listed its shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) on 1 June, the first European company to do so. The company is also planning to launch two funds in the GCC by the summer.

Fortune's shares are being listed in a non-capital-raising secondary listing. About 122 million ordinary shares will be listed at a price of Eur 2.80 ($3.60) each. The shares are already traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

'Listing here will give us visibility and provide proof that we are here to stay - people in the region are bored of briefcase bankers,' says Fortune chief executive officer Rene Muller. 'When we first came here, we would have liked to have been listed but it was not possible for an international company on the local markets. It also makes sense because the GCC and European stock markets are uncorrelated, so the two listings balance each other.' Fortune has had a representative office in Dubai since 2003.

The company is preparing to launch imminently two funds with local partners. One is expected to be a sharia-compliant co-investment fund worth $600 million, with $200 million in the form of equity and the remainder raised through sukuk issuance. The second will focus on infrastructure-related investment.

www.meed.com/companiesmarkets

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.