Waha eyes energy sector

Abu Dhabi-listed investment firm, Waha Capital, has established a new unit to drive its future investments in the energy sector across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Waha Capital is active in principal investments, capital markets and industrial real estate. The company’s principal investments division, which already holds diversified investments in various sectors including aircraft leasing, financial services, and infrastructure, is pursuing a strategy of investing in high-potential sectors in the Mena region, such as healthcare and education, as well as energy. Furthermore, the company’s capital markets division has a strong track record in global credit markets and has begun to successfully invest in regional equity markets.

“The energy sector across the Mena region continues to grow rapidly, presenting significant investment opportunities for regional private sector companies such as Waha Capital,” said Salem Al Noaimi, chief executive officer and managing director of Waha Capital. He said that Waha Capital was establishing a dedicated and experienced investment team focusing on the sector, and had identified a strong pipeline of potential acquisitions.

The unit, which is part of Waha Capital’s Principal Investments division, has made its first investment in National Petroleum Services (NPS) as part of a consortium that has acquired the UAE-headquartered oil and gas services company. The NPS transaction, which closed on June 26, 2014, has a total equity value of Dh1.36 billion, with Waha Capital taking a 20.56 per cent equity stake for Dh279 million.

With roots tracing back to the 1970s, NPS is a leading oilfield services provider with approximately 1,300 employees and 20 subsidiaries operating in key Mena and Southeast Asian markets, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Malaysia, Brunei, India and Turkmenistan. NPS specialises in well services, drilling and work-over services, well testing and wire-line logging services.

“NPS is a well-established company with a strong regional management team. We are excited to support the company in continuing to expand its service offering and geographic reach,” said Al Noaimi.

• haseeb@khaleejtimes.com