Dubai meat company sold
to Lebanon and Jordan buyers

Value of deal is $17 million

A local private equity fund management company, Emerging Investment Partners (EIP), has acquired the Dubai-based Diamond Meat Processing (DMP), owner of Almasa brand, in partnership with the Jordanian publicly listed firm, Siniora Food Industries. The full equity deal was closed at $17 million.

The seller of DMP is Emirati firm Al Ghurair Group.

EIP’s share of the deal is 30 percent. CSC Bank financed close to one third of EIP’s share. The terms of the deal are seven years at market rate to be repaid from dividends.

BSEC acted as advisor to the sellers, managing the deal and undertaking its valuation, which was close to the final purchase price.

Several other entities were also vying for the deal, including Salah Osseiran, Americana, Al Jazeera (KSA), Premier Food (KSA), and Al Arabiya lil Aghzia (Qatar).

“Al Ghurair decided to consolidate its operations and focus on its core activities in banking and construction. So, they are selling the good assets they have, one of which is DMP,” Karim Burhani, Managing Director of EIP said.

“Our interest in this sector, especially in this company, which produces luncheons and cold cuts, is that it is recession-proof. It is basic, not ethnic,” said Burhani.

Siniora is one of the biggest food production firms in the Arab region, coming third in terms of market share. “Siniora will manage the company on a day-by-day basis and we are its financial partner,” he said.

Almasa’s market share in the United Arab Emirates is 20 percent. EIP Managing Director Wassim Heneine said: “We have acquired a strong company that has been achieving yearly profits. We will build on this success and look for new markets in the region, namely Saudi Arabia.” Almasa has been achieving a 20 percent growth rate per year. Almasa currently exports to Oman and Qatar.

“The factory has a lot of capacity, so we intend to use it as a platform to expand our activity in the GCC area,” said Burhani. Last year, Almasa invested in the factory. “We expect additional capital expenditures in a few years’ time,” he said. Almasa’s monthly production is around 300 tons.

“We were able to pull out a deal, cooperate with a strategic partner, and open the appetite of investors to inject money, despite the challenging market,” said Heneine. The Almasa brand will remain and Siniora will be added to some of its products.

EIP has other investments in the pipeline. “We are looking into education, agriculture, and industry in the MENA region,” said Burhani.

EIP was founded by Obeji and Al Fadel families together with Burhani and Heneine.