Oman's OIFC to back out from Rasmala PE fund investment

Oman’s OIFC to back out from Rasmala PE fund investment

OIFC had offered to invest up to $5 mln in fund; Rasmala MENA PE fund 2 targets $350 mln; OIFC cites issues related to establishment of fund

June 12, 2011 8:10 by p.deleon

Oman Investment & Finance Co (OIFC) on Sunday said it decided to withdraw from investing in Dubai investment bank Rasmala’s private equity fund after issues emerged related to the establishment of the fund.
OIFC said it had disclosed on February that it may invest up to $5 million in Rasmala MENA (Middle East North Africa) Private Equity Fund 2. In a statement to the Muscat bourse, OIFC said it has no commitments or liabilities to the fund.
OIFC did not provide any additional details. Rasmala was not immediately available for comment.
Rasmala MENA Private Equity Fund 2 is a sharia-compliant fund targeting $350 million in size and aims to invest in mid-cap growth equity and buyout investments primarily in the Gulf and Egypt.
The fund reached it first closing in 2009 and had investor commitments of $120 million.
Rasmala decided to shut its retail brokerage operations in the United Arab Emirates last month as part of a restructuring programme begun in November last year, an internal document seen by Reuters showed.
It named Michael Kidd, head of its private equity as the chief operating officer. (Reporting by Dinesh Nair, Editing by Shaheen Pasha) (dinesh.nair@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301; Reuters Messaging:dinesh.nair.reuters.com@reuters.net))