Oman sovereign fund acquires 32% stake in Spanish firm

Muscat: Oman’s State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) has signed an agreement to acquire a 32.2 per cent stake in Spain-based MecanizadosEscribano.
MecanizadosEscribanois a Spanish firm, based in Madrid, which manufactures precision mechanical components and develops its own systems for the aerospace and defence sectors.
According to the deal, SGRF will invest in Escribano through a combination of equity purchased from the current owners and a capital increase to finance new development projects.
Abdulsalam Al Murshidi, executive president of SGRF, said the deal is part of the Sultanate’s efforts to explore successful investment opportunities with leading companies around the world. “SGRF considers MecanizadosEscribano as a long-term strategic investment, with the intention of remaining investors for the foreseeable future and favouring future expansion plans for the business, notably in Oman.”
“The agreement will also replicate MecanizadosEscribano’s business model in Oman, with respect to machining capabilities and technologies, but encompassing it to the start-up of the local business.” This will no doubt help create a lot of job opportunities that are needed and train Omani nationals to work in this booming sector.
“MecanizadosEscribanois happy to have joined hands with Oman to continue the march of a rapidly growing company, which has managed to secure an impressive pipeline of contracts in the aerospace and defence industry. The company has consistently remained a competitive and favoured supplier to its clients, in an industry dominated by significantly larger players,” noted Javier Escribano.
“We will seek to transfer our expertise to Oman and help establish a solid industrial base that would guarantee better future for the country. Moreover, the management team is excited to explore new markets, with the assistance of SGRF’s relationships.”
The signing ceremony was held under the auspices of Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance.
The new partnership will be named Escribano Middle East LLC and Oman National Investment Development Co. (Tanmia) is going to represent SGRF in the locally established company with a 30 per cent stake.