PE firm buys 6.6 percent of Jordan Dubai Islamic bank

PE firm buys 6.6 percent of Jordan Dubai Islamic bank

Jordan-based private equity firm Foursan Group has acquired a 6.6 percent stake in Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, making it the bank's second largest stakeholder, Foursan said on Thursday.

September 6, 2012 5:42 by Reuters

ordan-based private equity firm Foursan Group has acquired a 6.6 percent stake in Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, making it the bank’s second largest stakeholder, Foursan said on Thursday.

The firm declined to disclose the monetary value of the deal. It is not yet considering seeking a seat on the bank’s board because the term of the current board has yet to expire, Foursan’s vice-president Jameel Anz told Reuters.

Foursan’s investment was made through the firm’s $100 million fund Foursan Capital Partners I, which closed in 2009. The fund’s investors included Jordan’s Social Security Corp and the International Finance Corp, an arm of the World Bank.

JDIB, one of four Islamic banks in Jordan, is the successor to Industrial Development Bank, which converted its operations to become an Islamic lender in 2009.

JDIB’s assets grew 31 percent to 350 million dinars ($495 million) in 2011, according to company data. Net income reached 5.35 million dinars during the same period, after a loss of 3.5 million dinars in 2010.

The Jordanian market has also attracted Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank, which started operations in March 2011, marking Jordan the third international foray for the world’s largest Islamic lender. (Editing by Andrew Torchia)