Cairo-based Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa, has maintained its position as Africa's biggest private equity firm, according to Private Equity International (PEI), Egyptian Arabic media reported yesterday. Citadel Capital has maintained its position as Africa's biggest private equity firm, according to PEI. PEI's sixth-annual ranking of the largest 300 hundred private equity firms worldwide reports that Citadel Capital has been a top performer over the past four years, maintaining its top-position in Africa. PEI 300 ranking is based on the amount of private equity direct-investment capital that each firm has raised within a roughly five-year period between January 2011 and August 2012. Citadel Capital's website reported in June that the firm has $9.5 billion invested in 15 different industries across 15 countries. The company asserts the significance of the African continent, highlighting that “six of the world 10 fastest-growing economies were African." “We stand at the threshold of a new era, where the African star can flicker in the field of global investment," Egyptian Arabic media reported yesterday Ahmed Heikal, Chairman of Citadel Capital, saying. During the second quarter this year, Citadel Capital has managed to reduce its net losses compared to the first quarter. The firm's financial results for the second quarter 2012 show an improvement in the firm's platform and portfolio companies, reducing net losses by roughly a fifth to settle at $20.6 million. Principal investment surged by 14.8 per cent in the first half the year to $1.1 billion, Citadel Capital reports. Moreover, quarter-to-quarter figures demonstrate an improvement in total invested equity, which has risen by 9.9 per cent. However, the company stresses that the improvement in performance was offset by $8.1 million in foreign exchange losses, on the back of the devaluation of the Sudanese pound, which had a negative impact on the company's portfolio. Cairo-based Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa, has maintained its position as Africa's biggest private equity firm, according to Private Equity International (PEI), Egyptian Arabic media reported yesterday. PEI's sixth-annual ranking of the largest 300 hundred private equity firms worldwide reports that Citadel Capital has been a top performer over the past four years, maintaining its top-position in Africa. PEI 300 ranking is based on the amount of private equity direct-investment capital that each firm has raised within a roughly five-year period between January 2011 and August 2012. Citadel Capital's website reported in June that the firm has $9.5 billion invested in 15 different industries across 15 countries. The company asserts the significance of the African continent, highlighting that “six of the world 10 fastest-growing economies were African." “We stand at the threshold of a new era, where the African star can flicker in the field of global investment," Egyptian Arabic media reported yesterday Ahmed Heikal, Chairman of Citadel Capital, saying. During the second quarter this year, Citadel Capital has managed to reduce its net losses compared to the first quarter. The firm's financial results for the second quarter 2012 show an improvement in the firm's platform and portfolio companies, reducing net losses by roughly a fifth to settle at $20.6 million. Principal investment surged by 14.8 per cent in the first half the year to $1.1 billion, Citadel Capital reports. Moreover, quarter-to-quarter figures demonstrate an improvement in total invested equity, which has risen by 9.9 per cent. However, the company stresses that the improvement in performance was offset by $8.1 million in foreign exchange losses, on the back of the devaluation of the Sudanese pound, which had a negative impact on the company's portfolio.
