Oasis International Leasing has reached a preliminary understanding with the board of directors of Bahrain-based Addax Investment Bank to acquire a 42.5 per cent stake in the latter.

According to the agreement, Oasis will be the largest shareholder and will have 'direct representation' in the bank.

The announcement came at meeting of the Oasis board of directors presided over by chairman Hussain Al Nowais.

Once the regulatory authorities in both countries approve the agreement, Oasis will become the single largest shareholder in Addax Bank, which operates under the supervision of the Bahrain Monetary Agency.

One of the most renowned investment banking operations in Bahrain, Addax offers a wide range of investment products including regular investment funds, hedge funds and property investment funds.

Al Nowais described the acquisition as strategic expansion for Oasis. 'This strategic acquisition will provide us with an ideal platform for regional expansion in financial services.

Through this injection of capital by Oasis, we are confident that we will be able to support the existing shareholders and management team at Addax to continue their impressive record of success and capitalise on the exciting opportunities going into the future.”

Yousef Al-Essa, CEO of Addax Bank, said: “We are very excited about the addition of Oasis Leasing to our group of shareholders. Oasis enjoys a great reputation in the region and their involvement with Addax will bring enormous value to our bank. “

“Addax has established a reputation for bringing unique and innovative investment opportunities to our clients. This was recently recognized our peers in the industry that voted Addax to be the “Best New Bank” during the Banker Middle East 2007 Industry Awards, ” he added.

Addax Bank is active in the full range of investment banking services including investment funds, real estate investment funds and secured funds. In the past 4 years Addax has completed transactions in hospitality, education, real estate, IT, aviation, infrastructure, media, and financial services.

The Oasis board was informed that the company had earned net after-tax profit of Dh91 million for the 9-month period ending September 30, 2007, representing an 86 per cent increase. This compares with net profit of Dh49 million during the corresponding period in 2006.

Oasis announced total revenues of Dh324 million for the 9-month period, an increase of 49 percent over revenues for the corresponding period last year. Operating profits for the same period increased 145 per cent to Dh80.8 million compared to Dh32.9 million during the same period last year.

Over the first three quarters of the year, assets held by the company increased 21 per cent to Dh4.142 billion when measured against the same period of 2006.

Al Nowais praised the remarkable financial performance of the company during the the third quarter of the year, saying: “This has supported the company to push forward its investment plans in the leasing sector as net profits for the third quarter increased 20 percent to Dh30 million, compared to Dh25 million during the third quarter of 2006. Operational profits for the same period increased 29 percent to Dh27 million over the same period in 2006 which recorded Dh21 million.”

The board members were briefed about the progress in implementing the company's restructuring plan approved by the last the annual general meeting in May this year. As part of the restructuring, Oasis Leasing will become “Al Waha Capital” under which four subsidiaries will be established: “Al Waha Leasing”, “Al Waha Land”, “Al Waha Maritime” and “Al Waha Financial Services”.

Meanwhile, Oasis continued to strengthen its senior management team with new appointments. The new appointments are in line with the company's plans to expand and diversify its business portfolio.-TradeArabia N