NBKC Partners Mezz Fund II completes 2 investments in the education and technology sectors

Dubai: October 31, 2016

NBK Capital Partners is pleased to announce the closing of two mezzanine loan investments. The firm facilitated the acquisition of Qimam El Hayat International Schools LLC (Qimam El Hayat), a K-12 American curriculum school in Saudi Arabia and invested in Perkon Personel Kontrol Barkod Sistemleri Bilgisayar Yazılım Elektronik A.Ş. (Perkon) in Turkey marking the firm’s ninth and tenth mezzanine investments.

Both investments were consummated through NBK Capital Partners Mezzanine Fund II (the “Fund”), focusing on providing capital to middle market companies in consumer-centric sectors in the MENA region. This is NBK Capital Partners’ fifth investment in the education sector and fourth mezzanine investment in Turkey.

Qimam El Hayat is a private K-12 school in Riyadh that provides quality education to over 2,500 students. The School caters to low and middle-income expatriates, primarily Arab nationals, and is one of the most reputed schools in its segment. Our capital was provided as acquisition financing to a consortium of Saudi investors (the “Sponsors”), which include education industry veterans. Post-acquisition, the Sponsors plan to upgrade the School’s facilities and install a professional management team to accelerate the School’s growth.

Perkon is the market leader in the Turkish payment systems / automatic identification and data capture (“AIDC”) industry, which constitutes products (and accompanying services) such as cash registers, POS machines, electronic scales and barcode scanners that are widely used in industries including retail, HoReCa and logistics. As the pioneer in Turkey, Perkon commands a differentiated position in the market by providing the widest range of product offerings and unparalleled technical support thanks to its exceptional distributor and solution partner network. NBK Capital Partners provided mezzanine capital to further strengthen Perkon’s market position by enabling the introduction of cutting-edge payment and identification solutions both domestically and internationally.

Yaser Moustafa, Senior Managing Director at NBK Capital Partners, commented, “Qimam El Hayat has earned a strong reputation amongst peers and in its target market thanks to its competitive offering. Our involvement in the investment is consistent with our goal of investing in sectors that capitalize on the region’s young and growing population.”

Cem Bayulgen, Managing Director at NBK Capital Partners, added, “Perkon is a strong technology brand built on a comprehensive product portfolio, unmatched after sales support and an exceptional distribution network in the domestic market. Our investment is consistent with our strategy of investing in the leaders of innovative sectors with solid growth potential.”