Gate Capital News Letter | Issue 757

Saudi B2B commerce and fintech platform SILQ has secured a $20 million Shariah-compliant structured financing facility from emerging markets asset manager Gemcorp Capital to expand embedded financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia.

The transaction marks Gemcorp’s first direct lending investment in the Kingdom and will support the growth of SILQ’s embedded finance platform, Fina, as demand for alternative SME financing continues to increase.

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) has announced its investment in SEEDRA Ventures Fund II, a venture capital fund managed by SEEDRA Ventures, an entity licensed by the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia.

While sector-agnostic, the Fund is geared towards technology and tech-enabled startups, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), FinTech, and Proptech. The Fund primarily targets early-stage, high-growth startups.

Arab Company for Drug Industries & Medical Appliances (ACDIMA) sold 12 million shares in Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp. (SPIMACO), representing approximately 10% of SPIMACO’s share capital.

The shares were sold to Alistithmar Capital Investment Fund 44 and Alistithmar Capital Investment Fund 49 through private transactions for SAR 326.3 million.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait remain the Gulf’s largest Islamic banking markets with the Islamic lenders accounting for 76% and 51% of banking assets respectively, according to S&P Global Ratings.

Saudi Arabia’s Cenomi Centers has announced that Durrat Al Raed Investment Company, the developer of its prime project Westfield Riyadh, had secured an upsized shariah-compliant Murabaha financing facility from Riyad Bank, thus increasing committed funding to SAR2.7 billion ($707 million) from SAR1 billion ($262 million).

Abu Dhabi-based AI investment firm MGX and a consortium including the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have successfully completed their previously announced acquisition of 100% of the equity in Aligned Data Centres from private infrastructure funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management and its co-invest partners.

Al Ansari Financial Services, a leading financial institution in the GCC, has strengthened its regional cross-border payments platform through new partnerships between its subsidiaries, Bahrain Financing Company (BFC) in Bahrain and Bahrain Exchange Company (BEC) in Kuwait with Western Union.

The partnerships broaden customer access to Western Union’s global money transfer network spanning more than 200 countries and territories, through BFC and BEC’s extensive branch networks, reinforcing the group’s commitment to delivering secure, and seamless reliable international cross-border payment solutions across key GCC markets, said a company statement.

Saudi mobile game developer FLOATY Studio has raised $1 million in a funding round led by Merak Capital through the Merak Gaming Fund (MGF), as the company looks to accelerate game development and expand its reach in global mobile gaming markets.

Arab Company for Drug Industries & Medical Appliances (ACDIMA) sold 12 million shares in Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp. (SPIMACO), representing approximately 10% of SPIMACO’s share capital.

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) is deploying more than AED5 million ($1.36 million) through its Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund (ERF), supporting over 60 startups and SMEs across Sharjah with equity-free grants, tailored advisory services and accelerated funding.

Kuwait International Bank (KIB), through its Islamic investment arm KIB Invest, participated as a Joint Lead Manager in the pricing of the third issuance of international sukuk for the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), with a total value of $2.75 billion.

Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has signed seven contracts worth a total of SAR1 billion ($262 million) with national and international companies for the construction and expansion of logistics centres at Jeddah Islamic Port and the Al Khumra logistics zone.

Arabian Cement Co. announced conducting certain amendments to the structure of the share swap agreement inked by its subsidiary, Arabian Cement Bahrain Holding Co.

It added that Arabian Cement Bahrain Holding will buy the shareholding interest of RMCC in Qatrana Cement Co. in Jordan, amounting to 6.25 million shares, at share price of JOD 1 and total value JOD 6.2 million (Approximately SAR 33.1 million).

Syria-based super app Labby has raised $10 million from a group of UAE and Saudi investors, in what officials describe as the first direct foreign investment in a Syrian technology startup, marking a milestone for the country’s emerging startup ecosystem.

The SME financing landscape in the United Arab Emirates has been evaluated at approximately $30 billion, reflecting a robust foundation for ongoing growth. This insight comes from a detailed market analysis conducted by Ken Research, which highlights the prevailing financing gaps and investment opportunities that exist within the country’s dynamic SME sector.

East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry has announced that it had signed agreements worth about SAR8.92 million ($2.3 million) with selected suppliers to acquire strategic material handling assets. The company said the acquisitions are intended to strengthen its operational capabilities by securing advanced and reliable material handling equipment to support its operations and strategic objectives, it stated.

Egyptian healthtech startup Reme-D has raised $1.45 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Anara Impact Capital, with participation from the Global Innovation Fund, Africa Health Ventures, and other investors, to expand its manufacturing capacity, regional footprint, and diagnostic product portfolio.

Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital and French leisure and hospitality group Pierre & Vacances have signed a Tender Offer Agreement setting the terms and conditions for Mubadala Capital’s proposed acquisition of the company through an all-cash voluntary tender offer.