GFH acquires $1.2bn portfolio; land bank hits 200m sq ft

GFH Financial Group today announced that it has completed the acquisition of a $1.2-billion infrastructure portfolio in Africa and the Middle East. The acquisition comes as part of GFH’s new strategy approved in the last shareholders’ extraordinary general meeting in March 2017 and subsequent to regulatory approvals. The acquisition has been funded by $315 million capital increase, taking GFH issued and paid-up capital to $975 million. The portfolio acquired will make GFH one of the key land banks with more than 200 million sq ft across Africa, GCC and India. Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, said: “We are pleased to complete this major acquisition in GFH history today and deliver one of the key milestones in our new strategy. The acquisition adds another main line of business to GFH, infrastructure investments, alongside investment banking, commercial banking and real estate. "International and regional reputed developers have expressed their interest to partner with GFH in this portfolio. Hence we foresee substantial returns to our shareholders in the medium to long term.”