Beltone acquires Obelisk Beltone Financial Holding has completed the acquisition of Obelisk Securities, a brokerage and financial services firm, previously owned by a group of individual investors. Aladdin Saba, Chairman and Founder of Beltone Financial Holding, said, "This acquisition takes advantage of the synergies of the two firms and adds real value to our client base, which comprises major institutions and high-net-worth individuals, Saba said. Obelisk has a strong and experienced management team which adds to Beltone's existing group of seasoned professionals, he said. Sherif Masoud, CEO of Obelisk, said Beltone's regional brokerage presence in a number of key markets including Saudi Arabia and the UAE will add great value to Obelisk's clients. He added that Obelisk will now operate within the Beltone Securities Brokerage label. Beltone Financial is a full-service investment bank, providing unparalleled knowledge and experience of the opportunities for investment in the Middle East through a network of offices across the MENA region and in London and New York. Last February, Beltone Financial was honored at the New York Stock Exchange for organizing First Egypt Day, which brought together leaders from Egypt's major companies with institutions investing in MENA. Beltone has opened Beltone Enclave, an office in New York, the first investment bank to open an office dedicated entirely to serving the need of investors in the Americas in the Middle East. Beltone has more than LE 27 billion under Asset Management, has completed more than LE 7 billion in Investment Banking transactions and has more than LE 2 billion invested in Private Equity. The research department is covering 36 companies across MENA. Citadel buys Egypt media firm stake A joint venture of private equity firm Citadel Capital acquired 61 percent of the Egyptian Company for Marketing and Distribution, which owns the financial daily newspaper Al Mal, Reuters reported. The publishing company's chairman and managing director, Hazem Sherif, told Reuters on Monday Al Kateb Publishing Company, of which he owns 51 percent and Citadel owns 49 percent, had acquired 61 percent of the firm at a price to earnings ratio of 8. According to Reuters, Sherif declined to give the total value of the deal but he said it involved up to LE 7 million in capital increase and leveraged buyout. The company's earnings per share in 2006 stood at LE 2.6. "Al Kateb will give 10 percent of shares to the management through a leveraged buyout, which is the first of its kind for a newspaper in the Middle East, he added. The company, which launched its daily Al Mal newspaper in January, would increase its capital from LE 1.5 million to LE 7.5 million as a result of the transaction, the news agency reported. PM reviews population increase awareness campaign Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Sunday reviewed a national awareness campaign on the increasing population, the cabinet spokesman said. Nazif held a meeting in his office attended by the Ministers of Information and Health to review the campaign which will be aired in media outlets to raise awareness of the problem and its impact on development in general, he added. - SIS On the Stock Exchange The listing committee of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) said it will inform the CMA & GAFI with its continuing suspension of Remco for Touristic Villages Construction, pending both offices' recommendations. The committee also said Remco is to pay a financial obligation of LE 10,000. The Alexandria Medical Services announced its un-audited financial results for 2007, revealing a 34.29 percent increase from the previous year reaching LE 2,712,946. Net sales reached LE 30,576,109, with an increase of 25.88 percent, compared to the sales in 2006. Lebanon set to receive natural gas from Egypt by mid-2008 Lebanon should start receiving natural gas from Egypt through the Pan-Arab Natural Gas Pipeline by the middle of this year, acting Energy and Water Resources Minister Mohammad al-Safadi said, according to the Daily Star Lebanon. Suffering from a chronic shortage of power, Lebanon could expect gas from the pipeline to trim the country's energy bill by 30 percent, an adviser to Safadi told The Daily Star last week. Saudi Atheeb to bid for Egypt fixed-line licenceReuters reported that Saudi Arabia's Atheeb group plans to lead a consortium to bid for Egypt's second fixed-line telecom license. "We are in the final stages to set up a consortium that will bid for the Egyptian license, Chairman Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Ahmed al-Saud told Reuters. "It is a natural step in our growth. The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority said on Sunday it would auction a second fixed-line license on June 19. CIB posts 51 pct rise in net profit The Commercial International Bank posted a 51 percent rise in 2007 net profit on Monday reaching LE 1.29 billion ($235 million), the bank said. According to Reuters, the bank reported net profit of LE 852.6 million in 2006. CIB said in a statement printed in a local financial newspaper that its total assets rose 27 percent to LE 47.8 billion by end-2007 from LE 37.6 billion a year earlier.
