Gulf Capital, one of the largest and most active alternative asset management firms in the Middle East, recently completed its full exit from Gulf Marine Services (GMS) through four consecutive block sales over the last month on the London Stock Exchange.

 

Through a series of a leveraged recapitalisation pre-IPO, a highly successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange and several block sales post IPO, Gulf Capital completed the realisation of its investment in GMS and generated, in total, a multiple on original invested capital (MOIC) of over 5.3x and an IRR of 31 per cent for GC Equity Partners II, its second private equity fund which held the GMS investment, a statement said.

 

GMS is the leading operator of self-propelled Self Elevated Support Vessels (SESV) in the Middle East and in the Southern North Sea in Europe, with clients in the offshore oil and gas industry and wind turbine installation sector. 

 

Dr Karim El Solh, CEO and managing partner of private equity at Gulf Capital, said:  "The last four block sales over the last month on the London Stock Exchange completed our final exit from GMS. We are extremely happy with the performance and growth of GMS during our ownership period and by the attractive returns generated for our investors in GC Equity Partners II. From the date of our entry in 2008 until the end of 2017, GMS increased its EBITDA by over 500 per cent and has grown from being a local UAE company to becoming a dominant global leader in its industry. During this period, the financial performance of GMS has been remarkable, registering an impressive annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent in revenues and over 20 per cent in EBITDA. This proprietary control investment in GMS represents the template for future control growth buy-outs in the Middle East and is a good testimony of the strong returns that can be generated from private equity in the Gulf region."

 

Richard Dallas, senior managing director of private equity, Gulf Capital, added: "This is a landmark transaction not only for Gulf Capital, but also for private equity in the Middle East. It demonstrates that our region is capable of growing world-class businesses and of competing on a global scale. It also demonstrates that private equity firms in the Middle East can execute successful exits through a combination of leveraged recapitalisations, IPOs and secondary block sales. Gulf Capital is currently evaluating a number of other similar investments in the region and will continue its strategy of partnering with world-class management teams and pursuing proprietary control buy-outs in the Middle East.” – TradeArabia News Service