GIB Capital Advises Al Tala’a International Transportation Company on Sale of Byrne Equipment Rental to Itqan Investments and Tamar VPower Energy Fund

GIB Capital, the investment banking arm of Gulf International Bank (GIB), today announced that it has acted as the financial advisor to Al Tala’a International Transportation Company (“Al Tala’a or Hanco”) on the SAR 930 million sale of Byrne Equipment Rental to Itqan Investments and Tamar VPower Energy Fund.

Byrne Equipment Rental is a leading supplier of rental equipment including power rental solutions across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and has been named one of the top 100 rental companies in the world by International Rental News. The company offers equipment rental solutions to a variety of sectors including oil and gas, construction and infrastructure, events, industrial and manufacturing, and marine and ports. The deal also includes other businesses within the Byrne Group, namely Spacemaker (UAE), Byrne Technical Services (KSA) and Byrne Medical Equipment Rental.

Mr. Hamad Al Sulaiman, Owner and Chairman of Itqan, and Chairman and CEO of the Byrne Group, said: “The acquisition will support Byrne’s plans to grow into the Asian markets and replicate the success the company has already achieved in the GCC region, and tap into a wider scope of power generation solutions in the GCC region. Our clients here in the GCC will continue to receive an outstanding level of service and will benefit from a growth in our rental fleet, both in terms of size and diversity.”

Tamar VPower Energy Fund is jointly managed by a Hong Kong-based company, VPower Group International, engaged in power generation, and Citic Pacific, a diversified Chinese Government owned conglomerate.

Mr. Osamah Shaker, GIB Capital’s Chief Executive Officer said: "This transaction is Citic Pacific’s (Chinese Government owned conglomerate) first investment in the region and signifies the attractiveness of the region for Foreign Direct Investments. We are extremely proud to have been associated with this transaction. We congratulate Al Tala’a on the successful closure of this deal and wish the buyers the very best for their future endeavors. We look forward to continuing to play a leading role in Saudi capital markets based on our traditional strengths and the strengths of our team.”

GIB Capital was established in April 2008 in Saudi Arabia and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GIB. With more than two decades of investment banking experience in the region, GIB, now through GIB Capital, continues to offer a comprehensive range of innovative and customized financial and investment banking products and solutions to clients, which include family businesses, entrepreneurs, governments and quasi-government entities obtain financing solutions.