Jordan-based investment company Masaken Capital is set to acquire an Egyptian real estate company, in a move to expand its projects, Masaken Capital’s Chairman, Hasan Ismaik, announced on Sunday.
Ismaik, who was formerly CEO of Dubai-based construction company Arabtec, acquired 37% of Masaken Capital in August. In 2011, a group of Jordanian and Emirati investors acquired more than 50% of the company’s paid-up capital, diverting it to an investment company.
Ismaik noted that the company plans to expand in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in addition to increasing its presence in Jordan.
Over the next period, Masaken Capital will focus on projects for limited-income citizens in Jordan, the Gulf, and Africa, including Egypt, “as these projects meet the needs of a large segment of individuals”, Ismaik said.
He called for a merger of companies operating in Jordan’s real estate sector, to attract investments and help companies carry out their development projects.
Earlier this month, Ismaik said Masaken Capital is planning to hire international investment companies, including JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Jordan’s Arab Bank, in a bid to list on the UAE and Saudi stock markets.
Masaken Capital aims to increase its capital to JOD 500m ($705m) from JOD 24m, Ismaik added, and disclosed that his company will announce an acquisition in the UAE in the upcoming period.
In March 2014, Ismaik, who was then Arabtec’s CEO, signed with Egypt’s then-defence minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi an agreement to construct 1m residential units for Egyptian youth. Although Ismaik resigned from Arabtec in June 2014, he still owns an 11.8% stake in the company.
