Dubai: Samena Capital and a group of international investors including two Gulf sovereign wealth funds have completed the purchase of a 30.6 per cent stake in Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics, the investment firm said in a statement on Sunday.
The fund, acting through Cayman Islands-registered subsidiary Samena Limestone Holdings, will have two seats on the board of one of the world’s biggest makers of floor tiles, following the acquisition.
The statement did not name the other investors in the consortium. But in a separate bourse filing, RAK Ceramics said it had amended its rules so citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states were treated as equivalent to UAE shareholders — suggesting the investors come from outside the UAE.
Samena’s statement also did not disclose the purchase price.
When the deal was ratified in April, if it was at market price, it would have valued the whole company at around $852 million.
However, in granting regulatory approval last month, the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority granted a waiver to the deal because the offer price was outside the range permitted — 25 per cent above or below the closing price on the day before the bid was made.
Samena Capital has $700 million worth of assets under management, in private equity, credit and hedge fund seeding, according to its website. Its principal investments are in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
RAK Ceramics shares fell 4.4 per cent on Sunday to Dh3.5 ($0.95), under-performing a benchmark retreat of 2 per cent. The stock is up 22.6 per cent year-to-date after nearly tripling in 2013.
