Manama, 24 August 2011> -Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn) announces the successful sale of its investment in Victron, Inc. (Victron), a specialty provider of high-mix, complex electronics manufacturing services (EMS) based in Fremont, California.
Unicorn acquired an 80% equity stake in Victron in December 2007. The Bank has sold its stake to OnCore, a prominent US-based EMS company. (source)
The sale of Victron follows Unicorn's recent decision to exit the US market to focus on the Bank's core markets in the GCC region, Malaysia and Turkey. The Bank also recently successfully exited its investment in Sun Well Service, Inc., a leading regional workover services provider to oil and gas exploration companies in the United States.
Commenting on the sale of Victron, Yousef A. Al-Shelash, Chairman of Unicorn, said: "We are pleased to have successfully sold our stake in Victron, particularly given prevailing global market conditions, following a holding period of over three years. Going forward, our private equity division will continue to target businesses in the oil and gas services, industrial services, logistics, agri-business and healthcare sectors, with a specific focus on private companies operating in the GCC and MENA regions, including Turkey."
Unicorn recently announced its results for the first half of 2011, reporting a net profit of approximately US$3.1 million for the period. Unicorn's return to profitability follows a major restructuring initiative undertaken by the Bank in the latter half of 2010 and the first half of 2011.Ikbal Daredia, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Unicorn, commented: "Although the global operating environment remains extremely challenging, we are confident that the strong corrective measures that we have taken to strengthen the Bank, including major deleveraging of our balance sheet, a significant reduction in our operating expenses and the realignment of the Bank's operating strategy, leave Unicorn in a strong position to continue to report profitability in 2011."
