Ashkanani (left) with others at the press conference in Dubai that announced a consortium of investors acquiring building material firm Oryx Industries in Fujairah.

State Holding, a Qatari company has joined a consortium of investors to acquire a building material firm- Oryx Industries in Fujairah.
First Equity Partners (FEP), a Mena private equity firm and strategic partners have collectively committed AED500mn to the venture as of end-December 2014.  The initial acquisition of a 50% stake will be followed by a full acquisition by the end of the first quarter this year.  
The consortium of investors who have joined forces with FEP to execute this acquisition include: Sheikh Abdulla al-Sharqi (Chairman, Oryx Industries), State Holding (Qatar), Rawabi Holding (Saudi Arabia) and Al Waab Real Estate (Kuwait).  
A press conference held in this connection in Dubai recently was attended among others by Adnan Ashkanani, Executive Management member, State Holding.
Established in 2007, State Holding focuses on Mena and Europe-based investments, primarily in the industrial and real estate sectors.
The acquisition supports the ambitious expansion plan of the construction materials producer, which has delivered robust growth in the recent past. It also capitalises on the GCC construction boom, driven by significant investment in large-scale real estate and infrastructure projects, such as the Dubai World Expo 2020 and Qatar World Cup 2022. This is set to boost the demand for imports of construction materials in coming years.
 Qais al-Maskati, managing director and CEO of FEP referred to the acquisition as “a timely investment with strong up-side potential”.
He said, “FEP is proud to play an integral role in the future of Oryx Industries — a uniquely positioned organisation that is set to benefit from the increasing demand for basic building materials in the construction sector.  FEP is able to identify first-rate opportunities and Oryx Industries is no exception. As a regional industry leader in the areas of aggregate production, trading and bulk transport and logistic services; Oryx Industries is expected to play a vital role in many of the large-scale GCC real estate and infrastructure projects in the coming years.”
Oryx Industries is a regional industry leader in the production of aggregates and ready-mix. It holds a 50% share of the ready mix concrete market in Fujairah and a 20% share of Fujairah’s aggregate export market.  
Sheikh Abdulla and al-Maskati expressed their enthusiasm and optimism regarding the acquisition, given the lucrative market potential, which was supported by the increasing demand for building materials in the construction sector.
Osman Ibrahim, Group President and CEO of Rawabi Holding said, “We are excited to be part of this consortium and look forward to working with FEP and the other strategic partners to realise the full potential of this opportunity. The Gulf region witnessed unprecedented levels of growth supported by the high level of government spending, which had a positive impact on construction related sectors and the companies operating in this field.”