Manama: Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat yesterday announced it has bought a minority stake in Kuwait-based Gulf Cryo, a regional manufacturer of industrial gases.
The announcement comes a day after the kingdom’s investment arm announced it had acquired 49 per cent stake in Spanish aluminium products group Asturiana de Aleaciones (Aleastur).
Gulf Cryo’s shareholders now include Amer Huneidi, other members of the Huneidi family, Investcorp and Mumtalakat. deNovo Corporate Advisors acted as the financial adviser in this transaction to the majority shareholders in the company.
Founded in 1953 as the Kuwait Oxygen and Acetylene Company, Gulf Cryo produces and supplies industrial, medical and specialty gases to a wide range of industries in the Mena region.
Today, Gulf Cryo oversees a network of more than 30 production and distribution sites operating in 12 countries, including the GCC countries, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and Austria, and is supported by a team of 1,000 professionals.
Gulf Cryo’s capabilities include a considerable pipeline distribution network, the largest merchant air separation production capacity in the region as well as an extensive network of facilities manufacturing and distributing oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, carbon dioxide, dry ice, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, food-grade, specialty and medical gases.
Mumtalakat chief executive Mahmood Al Kooheji said the transaction was aligned with the firm’s strategy to invest in leading international companies with strong growth potential looking for an active, long-term investor.
“We aim to support the company’s market penetration as well as its plans to establish a presence in Bahrain,” Mr Al Kooheji added.
The acquisition marks Mumtalakat’s fourth investment in the industrial sector in recent months aimed at further diversifying the industrial base and driving development.
Gulf Cryo chairman Amer Al Huneidi said Mumtalakat’s considerable funding expertise and influential connections in Bahrain and the wider GCC will help their investment plans in the coming years.
“We have been through a period of significant growth, concentrating on growing our portfolio of business services across wider territories,” Mr Al Huneidi added.
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