Zest Your Equity | 15-May-2024

This week’s agenda 📜

• What’s New? ⏱

• Startup fundraising 💰

• M&A Activity 🤝

• What we’re reading 📖

• Zest updates 🚨

Let’s dive in 👇

What’s New? ⏱

Private market investors have three primary ways to get liquidity for their company shares. We call these “exit opportunities.”

1. Initial Public Offering (IPO): An IPO is often looked at as the ultimate exit opportunity for investors, entrepreneurs, and early employees. This is when a company “lists” on a public exchange, no longer operating as a private company, but as a publicly-traded entity where shares can be bought and sold regularly by investors. Companies often raise large sums of money from investors during an IPO, and it’s an opportunity for early shareholders to sell their positions and turn their shares into cash.

2. Acquisition: Early investors can get liquidity through a company acquisition. A company may be acquired, or bought, by another company that finds synergies with their products or an opportunity to grow into a new market. Depending on how the financial terms of the acquisition are structured, some early shareholders may be able to receive cash for their shares as part of the deal.

3. Secondary sales: Although private company shares do not trade as frequently as the public market, there can be opportunities for investors to sell their private shares if the investment documentation allows for it. The secondary market is continuing to develop in the MENA region to serve as a way for investors to get liquidity.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can access liquidity in the private markets, please schedule a time to speak with one of our team members here.

Startup Fundraising 💰

• 🇸🇦 Saudia Arabia-based fintech Rasan is looking to raise $224.3M in the first-ever Tadawul listing for a Saudi startup.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based robo-advisory company Abyan Capital has closed a $18 million Series A round led by STV with participation from Wa'ed Ventures and RZM Investment.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based logistics startup WheeKeep has raised an $8 million Series A funding round, led by the American investor “Fintech Collective,” along with other local and international investors.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based fintech Swypex has raised a $4 million Seed investment round, led by venture capital fund Accel, with participation from Foundation Ventures, The Raba Partnership, and angel investors.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based fintech MNZL has raised $3.5 million in a Seed funding round, led by P1 Ventures, Localglobe, and Ingressive Capital. Additional support came from 500 Startups, Flat6Labs, First Circle Capital, ENZA Capital, Beenok, and other angel investors.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based data analysis Lune has raised $1.5 million in a Seed round from Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Plus Venture Capital,  Reach International, and Judah Ventures, joined by other family offices and angel investors.

M&A Activity 🤝

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based crypto mining and blockchain firm Phoenix Group has acquired a 12.5% stake in the Web3 gaming and entertainment startup Rekt Studios for an unknown amount. Source.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based online classifieds platform Dubizzle Group has acquired Drive Arabia, a UAE-based automotive-focused media and reviews platform, in an undisclosed deal value. Source.

Want to learn more? Schedule a time with our team below!