Citadel Capital Named Top African Private Equity Firm—Again

African Banker magazine names leading regional private equity player Citadel Capital its Fund of the Year

Citadel Capital, the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and North Africa with US$ 8.3 billion in investments under control, was named African Banker’s Best Private Equity Fund of the Year at a gala dinner held on October 6, 2009, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 14 awards were presented during the ceremony.

“We are honored to receive the African Banker award for Best Investment / Private Equity Fund of the Year,” said Citadel Capital Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. “This award, voted on by an audience that includes prominent limited partners, is a testament to the fact that we made the right call in 2008 and 2009 by first nurturing our existing investments and then pursuing advantageously priced bolt-on acquisitions for a number of our existing platform investments. With the crisis now better understood, we are aggressively seeking out new transactions. The time to do deals is now as we head into what will likely prove a great vintage year for private equity in the Middle East and Africa.”

The African Banker Awards recognize excellence in banking and finance in Africa and reward the people and financial institutions that are making a difference on the continent. The Private Equity Fund Award is given to the firm that has shown outstanding performance in terms of returns, reach and volume.

The firm is ranked by Private Equity International as the largest private equity firm in Africa and the 75th-largest globally. Since its establishment in 2004, Citadel Capital has raised more than US$ 4.1 billion in equity capital for investment and currently controls Platform Companies in 14 industries including mining, cement, transportation and food across 12 countries in the region.

“So far, we have generated more than US$ 2.4 billion in cash returns for our shareholders and co-investors, more than any other private equity firm in the MENA region,” said Hisham El-Khazindar, Citadel Capital’s Managing Director and Co-Founder. “This figure is the ultimate measure of the success of our investment model. We are confident that the Middle East and Africa hold significant untapped potential for investment and growth.”

Among others recognized by African Banker were Egyptian Minister of Finance, Youssef Boutros Ghali, who was named Finance Minister of the Year, and Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank, which shared the title of Best Development Bank in Africa with the African Development Bank.

Citadel Capital was previously named Best Private Equity House in Africa by emeaFinance, the emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa finance magazine, and was most recently the recipient of Global Investor magazine’s Middle East Award. The firm has also been named MENA Private Equity House of the Year for 2008 by Acquisitions Monthly, the international buy-out publication.

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Citadel Capital Named Top African Private Equity Firm—Again

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