Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has acquired a minority stake in Al Jazeera Agricultural Company, a fully integrated poultry and chicken feed producer and distributor in Jordan, through an equity investment of $35 million.

Al Jazeera is headquartered in Jordan and its main products include fresh and frozen chicken to retail consumers and wholesalers, parent and broiler hatching eggs and chicks, and chicken feed, said a statement.

The private equity will be granted two board seats and will provide strategic insight towards delivering on Al Jazeera’s regional expansion ambitions, it said.

Taimoor Labib, regional head of Mena Private Equity and head of Global Private Equity Portfolio Management at SCPE said: "We are thrilled to become strategic partners with one of the leading poultry companies in Jordan. Al Jazeera’s high quality management team, strong growth prospects and successful backward integration has been impressive and we are pleased for this investment to be both our first in Jordan and our first in the MENA food and agricultural sector, as well as our fifth investment overall in the region.

“We look forward to working with our partners at Al Jazeera to take the company to a regional level and assist with its growth story.”

Omar Al Husaini, chairman of Al Jazeera, said: “We are extremely excited to team with SCPE, whose global network and resources will complement our company’s local industry expertise to become a regional player in the poultry sector. SCPE’s investment and team experience will be a cornerstone of Al Jazeera’s expansionary plans in Jordan and the GCC markets and the partnership will bring to Al Jazeera the necessary experience and guidance that will transform the company from a family business to a mature group company.    
 
“We also look forward to having Standard Chartered Bank as the core banking provider to Al Jazeera, which will play a crucial role in achieving the company’s strategic objectives.  Our experience with Standard Chartered Bank Jordan has been outstanding and we intend to fully capitalise on the bank’s global capabilities and deep local knowledge to utilize the myriad of innovative products and services that the bank offers.”

“Finally, we would like to thank our financial advisor, Ithmar Invest, for the efforts it has exerted to consummate this transaction,” he added.

SCPE, which is the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank, invests in companies in need of expansion capital or acquisition finance, and in management buy-outs.

SCPE focuses on companies whose principal operations and management are located in Asia, Africa or the Middle East.  It is an active partner that provides board-level strategic advice and access to the international network of Standard Chartered, and since inception has invested about $6 billion in over 100 companies across the bank’s footprint. - TradeArabia News Service