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Miami, Florida – Leading Middle Market Global
Mergers & Acquisitions (Global M & A) partners, including
Jeddah-headquartered Financial Transaction House (FTH), convened in
Miami, Florida for the 5th Annual Global M & A Conference. The
meeting provided Global M & A partners the opportunity to listen to
leading speakers regarding the current state of the global economy
and discuss global investment opportunities, including the
opportunities and challenges strategic and financial buyers face
financing acquisitions. Despite the current U.S. and European
economic and financial woes, the investment return data that has
emerged confirms that cross-border middle market returns provide a
compelling reason to invest in those markets.
Faisal Alsayrafi, CEO of
FTH, the leading Jeddah-based investment banking and corporate
finance advisory firm was honored and selected during the Miami
Conference to host the next Global M & A Conference; an event slated
to take place in Dubai, UAE between 3-5 November 2008. According to
Mr. Alsayrafi “the November 2008 Dubai enables us and our 40
partners at Global M & A to identify trends and middle market firms
in numerous industries to identify compelling investment
opportunities. These opportunities are present despite the credit
and bond market woes and declining fundamentals that have tarnished
industrialized countries. Our partners agree that to succeed in the
global economy and complete transactions creativity and cash are
increasingly indispensable.”
Mr. Alsayrafi adds that
“the conference also provides Global M & A partners and GCC a forum
to identify in-bound and out-bound investment opportunities, trends
and value-added opportunities in multiple sectors, ranging from
energy, especially clean energy, chemicals, consumer products,
financial and insurance services, leisure and retail, healthcare and
pharma, food and beverage, heavy machinery and electrical products,
technology/IT and marketing and media to name just a few.”
According to FTH Vice
President, Roberto Castro, “in this multi-day investment banking
conference FTH brought three of its investment bankers and an
economist. Our professionals attended and actively participated in
the various sectors mentioned by Mr. Alsayrafi. Our professionals
participation is most critical since it enables FTH –that is us--to
discuss and identify investment and consumption shifts, developments
within industries and subsectors, and threats and opportunities to
investors.” Mr. Castro adds that “the constant information flow
keeps us current on deal terms and that enables us to mitigate and
manage our client’s investment risk exposure and that enables our
clients to understand market and valuation dynamics.” Global M & A
sectors leaders and partners video- or tele-confer on a bi-weekly
and monthly basis to discuss middle market M & A transactions,
discuss new client-directed buy and sell mandates, the factors that
drive transaction valuations, and industry developments.
The 5th Annual Global M
& A Conference featured Ron Insana, founder and manager of Insana
Capital Partners, an SEC registered U.S.-based investment adviser,
and former CNBC and Financial News Network Senior Anchor, who
discussed and analyzed the impact that the current U.S. banking and
financial crisis is having on M & A, valuations, and deal
structuring. David Hale, global economist and advisor to major
hedge funds and multinational corporations echoed some of the same
earlier themes raised by Mr. Insana. Mr. Hale characterized the
present economic environment as not only challenging and fraught
with danger and unparalleled opportunity at the same time stating it
presents “the greatest dislocation and also the greatest opportunity
in my entire career.” The conference also featured presentations by
the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
which described IPO opportunities provided by AIM, leading Latin
American multinational and PE firms that described their successful
growth strategies, bargain hunting in the global middle market by PE
funds, including Platinum Equity, Sun Capital Partners, Inc.,
important financing sources, such as GE Commercial Finance Europe,
and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
The conference also
featured sessions on clean energy and investment opportunities in
this sector. The falling dollar and rising oil prices have
adversely impacted U.S. consumption; declining consumption has been
offset by increased demand for oil by China and India. Mr. Faisal
Alsayrafi notes that “the increasing prices have spurred innovation,
which is advances in new technology. The new technology promises to
deliver electricity and heat at lower costs and ease price increases
and address supply – demand dynamics. These developments are likely
to lead to sustained growth and stability. Significantly, the clean
energy technology is critical to curb and reduce the green house
gases and pollution — these two factors are local and global issues
that are taking a gradual toll on people and the healthcare
system.”
With regard to the Dubai
Global M & A Conference being hosted by FTH, Sudhir Singh, an FTH
investment banker comments that “the Conference will also provide us
a forum to showcase to our partners, foreign Private Equity funds,
and multinationals the strengths, opportunities and challenges the
GCC faces. It also provides GCC middle market firms, funds and
family businesses and opportunity to network, and better understand
the benefits and challenges of joint venturing and selling business
interests to foreign financial and strategic buyers that are global
players.”
Readers interested in
additional information about Global M & A’s partner, FTH, the
Dubai-Conference, and or evaluating cross-border middle market
opportunities are invited to contact FTH. |
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