Citadel Capital’s 18 Opportunity-Specific Funds control Platform Companies that, together with their portfolio companies, span industries ranging from cement and mining to agrifoods and energy. Platform Companies serve as vehicles for add-on acquisitions, in the process turning national companies into regional players in their respective industries.
As of December 2009, the firm controls investments worth more than US$ 8.3 billion across a 12-country footprint centered largely on Egypt and Africa. Citadel Capital’s platform investments together employ more than 30,000 people.
Platform Companies as of December 2009 are listed below. Click on the name of any company to see a more detailed profile of that investment.
ASEC Holding (Engineering and Construction)
Originally founded in 1975 as the Arab Swiss Engineering Company, ASEC Holding is Citadel Capital’s platform investment for the regional cement production, construction and engineering industries with assets and operations throughout the Middle East and Africa.
ASCOM Geology & Mining (Mining)
ASCOM Geology & Mining, S.A.E. (ASCOM) is a regional geological and mining services company that specializes in geological investigations and the management of quarry operations for the cement industry as well as exploration and production of industrial minerals and precious metals, including gold and copper.
United Foundries (Metallurgy)
United Foundries (UCF) is Citadel Capital’s Platform Company in the metallurgy and foundry sectors with a production capacity of 30,000 tons of molted metal per year. Originally a part of ASEC Holding (NDT), United was spun off as its own entity in late 2008 and includes portfolio company assets Amreya Metal Company (91% stake) and Alexandria Automotive Casting (100%). United is a specialist in the manufacture of grinding media and castings for a full range of industrial applications.
National Petroleum Company (Upstream Oil and Gas)
The National Petroleum Company (NPC) is Citadel Capital’s Cairo-based upstream oil and gas exploration and production Platform Company. NPC is expanding its footprint throughout the MENA region and holds 100% of Egyptian operator Petzed, which controls 100% of the rights in the productive Shukheir Marine concession (Gamma and Shukheir Bay fields); the South Abou Zeneima, East Kheir and Ezz El-Orban concessions (all Gulf of Suez offshore concessions); as well as the North Maghara onshore concession in northern Sinai.
NOPC / Rally Energy Group (Heavy Oil)
This Calgary-based independent oil producer has operations in Egypt and Pakistan. As of December 2008, NOPC / Rally had reserves of 290 million barrels of oil equivalent split between the Issaran Field (located onshore in the Gulf of Suez region and operated by the Group’s fully owned Scimitar Production Egypt Ltd with 254.8 million barrels of oil) and the Salsabil Field in central Pakistan’s Punjab province, with 35.2 million BOE (equivalent to 210.9 BCF of natural gas).
Nile Valley Petroleum Ltd. (Upstream Oil and Gas)
Nile Valley Petroleum Limited (NVPL) is Citadel Capital’s Sudanese oil and gas exploration and production platform. The company acquired participating interests in three highly promising concessions in Sudan in June 2008 and is currently engaged in exploration on all three assets.
Egyptian Refining Company (Petroleum Refining)
The Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) is building a state-of-the-art US$ 3 billion greenfield second-stage oil refinery in the Greater Cairo Area, which will produce over 4 million tons of refined products when completed, including 2.3 million tons of EURO V diesel, the cleanest fuel of its type in the world.
TAQA Arabia (Energy Distribution)
TAQA Arabia is the parent company of a full-service Middle East energy distribution group with a focus on gas and electricity distribution as well as the storage and distribution of refined products.
Mashreq (Energy Distribution)
Mashreq, a spin-off of TAQA Arabia, is a Citadel Capital Platform Company now laying the groundwork for a unique petroleum products bunkering and storage facility in East Port Said Port that will capitalize on the high volume of global shipping that passes each year through the Suez Canal. Mashreq will be the only terminal of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Gozour (Agriculture and Integrated Consumer Foods)
Gozour is a Platform Company for an integrated regional agriculture and multi-category consumer foods platform. The group includes three primary lines of business: agri-foods and dairy, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and intermediate industries such as wet-corn milling and sugar processing. Gozour Portfolio Companies include Dina Farms, Rashidi El-Mizan, El-Misriyeen, El-Aguizy International, Mom’s Foods and a 31.5% stake in the National Company for Maize Products (NCMP).
Wafra (Agriculture)
Wafra is Citadel Capital’s Platform Company for agricultural production in Sudan. Wafra includes the rights to more than 500,000 feddans of land through investments held under portfolio companies Sabina (254,000 feddans in northern Sudan) and Sudanese Egyptian Agricultural Crops Company (SEAC, 250,000 feddans in southern Sudan).
GlassWorks (Glass Manufacturing)
GlassWorks is a Platform Company established by Citadel Capital and a group of leading co-investors to pursue investments in the Middle East and North African glass manufacturing industry. To date, GlassWorks’ investments include a 35% stake in Misr Glass Manufacturing (MGM), Egypt’s leading manufacturer and exporter of glass containers, and a 51% stake in Sphinx Glass. The remaining 49% of Sphinx Glass is owned by Dubai Group. Sphinx Glass is developing a 210,000-square-meter state-of-the-art greenfield float glass manufacturing facility that will produce 220,000 tons of glass annually.
Nile Logistics (Transportation & Logistics)
Nile Logistics is Citadel Capital’s Platform Company in the regional logistics, river transport and port management sector. Nile Logistics encompasses three portfolio companies: Nile Cargo (previously known as the National River Transportation Company); the National River Port Management Company (NRPMC); and Keer Marine. Nile Cargo is currently operating a fleet of refurbished river barges and is moving forward with plans to commission and operate a fleet of state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly barges that will be capable of transporting up to 15 million tons of goods along the Nile each year by 2012. NRPMC is building and operating river ports and logistics hubs along the River Nile. Keer Marine is Nile Logistics’ Portfolio Company for the promising Sudanese river transportation sector.
Finance Unlimited (Banking and Financial Services)
Finance Unlimited is a Platform Company for Citadel Capital’s investments in the regional financial services industry with exposure to the banking, corporate finance, private equity, asset management, brokerage and investment banking sectors.
Bonyan for Real Estate & Development (Specialty Real Estate)
Bonyan is a specialty real estate developer operating in Egypt and the wider MENA region. In Egypt, Bonyan is building two state-of-the-art commercial real estate projects, namely design, furniture and home accessories malls under its Designopolis brand.
Tanweer (Media)
Tanweer is a Platform Company for Citadel Capital’s investments in a range of leading regional media companies including the publishing house Dar El-Shorouk and book retailer Diwan, among others.
Grandview Investment Holding (Multisector)
Grandview Investment Holding Corp. (Grandview) is an investment company established by Citadel Capital and co-investors for the purpose of investing in turnarounds and buyouts of small and mid-cap industrial companies in the MENA region with a focus on Egypt.
Tawazon (Solid Waste Management)
Tawazon is Citadel Capital’s Platform Company for investment in the regional solid waste management industry. The sector is rapidly developing throughout the region with a limited number of large companies and often inefficient and incomplete operations translating into significant pockets of unserved demand.