Bahrain Family Leisure Company B.S.C (BFLC) and DGC Hospitality & Partners, the food and beverage investment arm of Dividend Gate Capital (DGC) have signed an MOU for a potential M&A transaction between the two companies. SICO BSC (c), a leading regional asset manager, broker, market maker and investment bank (licensed as a wholesale bank by the CBB), has been appointed as advisor to BFLC on the M&A deal. Grant Thornton has been appointed as the advisor to DGC Hospitality.
The two leading players in Bahrain’s food & beverage (F&B) and hospitality sector have signed an MOU to explore the possibility of a potential consolidation between the companies, which would result in a powerful market player with improved efficiencies and an increased market share. The MOU outlines the intent of the parties to negotiate and finalize the terms and conditions of the deal, which is in line with the region’s initiatives to expand the tourism sector as part of overall economic growth plans. The F&B and hospitality industries already play a significant role in Bahrain’s economy and are on track for future growth.
Commenting on the future potential of the deal, Abdul Latif K. Al-Aujan, BFLC Chairman, said, “Bringing together the resources, professional expertise, and complementary assets of our two companies will allow us to offer our customers and shareholders a superior value proposition. We are confident that we will be able to complete this process swiftly and efficiently with the guidance of the experienced investment banking team at SICO. Our targeted partnership with Dividend Gate Capital has the potential to grow both our company and Bahrain’s F&B and hospitality sector, and we look forward to crossing this new milestone.”
“This proposed deal with BFLC comes after a number of partnership agreements that we have finalized in the F&B sector as part of our large-scale investment project to grow SMEs in the Kingdom. We are excited to be taking this step towards a prospective consolidation, which would leverage our joint strengths to maximize stakeholder value and undoubtedly spur industry growth” said Talal Ali AlZain, DGC Chairman.
“SICO is proud to be mandated as the advisor on a deal where the two entities involved have clear synergies that can be brought together to create real value in Bahrain’s F&B sector. We are committed to working closely with BFLC to advise on financial and strategic planning, and to facilitate and support on negotiations and due diligence in a timely manner,” said Najla Al-Shirawi, CEO of SICO.
SICO investment banking has a long track record as a market leader and the partner of choice for M&A deals and IPOs in Bahrain. The SICO team has advised on some of the country’s largest and most complex transactions such as the KFH/AUB acquisition and dual listing, one of the largest banking acquisitions in recent history, the AMP Terminals IPO, the most successful IPO on the Bahrain Bourse in a decade, and the acquisition of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BISB) by National Bank of Bahrain (NBB).
The transaction is subject to reaching mutual agreement on valuations, the successful completion of due diligence, the finalization of definitive agreements, and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, as well as regulatory and shareholder approvals.