Zest Your Equity | 11-December-2024

This week’s agenda 📜

• The latest from our learning center ✍️

• Who’s raising? 💰

• M&A activity 📜

• What we’re reading 📖

Let’s dive in 👇

Our Blog ✍️

While the investment performance of public market funds offers clear performance indicators backed by frequent liquidity and transparent reporting, the performance of private market funds is typically more nuanced. 

Within private markets, performance indicators must account for the unique timeline of value creation in private companies, the fundamental differences of an illiquid environment, and the sparse availability of updated valuations and performance information. 

In our latest article, we discuss the lifecycle of value creation among private companies, how investment funds report on valuations, and why certain performance metrics are used over others.

Who’s Raising? 💰

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based cybersecurity startup Cipher has raised $13.3 million in a pre-IPO investment round from Impact46.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based fintech Wafeq has raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based edtech Aanaab has completed its Series A funding round, securing $7 million from Dallah Investment Holding. 

• 🇦🇪 Dubai-based decentralized technology company The Binary Holdings secured an investment of up to USD 5 mn from ABO Digital, a digital asset investment firm.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based edtech AlGooru has raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round through a combination of debt and equity financing.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based gametech startup Playgama has raised $3 million in a funding round led by The Open Platform and s16vc.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based logistics startup Nowlun has raised $1.7 million in seed funding, led by Nama Ventures and A15, with participation from Sanabil 500 Global and other angel investors.

• 🇲🇦 Morocco-based mobility startup Enakl has raised a $1.4 million pre-Seed funding round led by Catalyst Fund along with Renew Capital, Digital Africa, Station F and 15 business angels.

M&A activity 📜

• Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is acquiring a 42% stake in Los Angeles-based credit investment firm Silver Rock Financial. Source.

• Mubadala Investment Company completed its acquisition of a minority stake in Zelis, a US-based healthcare tech provider. Source.

• UAE-based private equity manager Aliph Capital has invested in UAE’s lifestyle product supplier, SANIPEX GROUP, for a 25% stake. Value remains undisclosed. Source.

• NBK acquires 51% of the capital of the Kuwait-based leading payment service provider, UPayments. Source.

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