CAIRO: EFG-Hermes announced Thursday that it had agreed to buy a Jordanian brokerage firm, Tadawol for Securities and Financial Services, for JD 3.85 million ($ 5.4 million). According to Reuters, EFG-Hermes said that it will assume management control of the business, which will be renamed EFG-Hermes Jordan. Waleed El Naasan, CEO of EFG Hermes Jordan, told Daily News Egypt that EFG Hermes chose Tadawol to get into the Jordanian market. “EFG looked at companies in Jordan with favorable experience and standing in the Jordanian market as well as the appropriate size and financial situation that warrants an acquisition. After studying the situation, we thought Tadawol was the right choice,” said Naasan. Naasan explained that EFG had a long standing presence in the Jordanian market. “EFG have been acting indirectly in Jordanian markets since 2007 through a locally based brokerage firm, and long before that as a consultant to the Jordanian government on Jordan's privatization program,” said Naasan. “EFG has many important clients in Jordan and wanted to have a direct presence in the Jordanian market, a country which it views to have great investment potential,” Naasan added. “Jordan is one of the premier financial markets in the Arab region. Its performance is relatively positive compared to other markets,” Naasan explained. “Amman Stock Exchange performance indicators have revealed remarkable performance during April 2010, as the ASE price index weighted by free-float shares closed at (2575.5) points, a 1.7 percent increase in comparison with the end of 2009,” said a monthly report by ASE. “The index weighted by market capitalization closed at 5433.6 points at the end of April, a 1.6 percent decrease in comparison with the end of 2009. The trading volume until April 2010 reached JD 3.145 billion compared to JD 3.956 billion in the same period of the last year, a 20.5 percent decrease,” the report adds. “This move will give EFG complete coverage of the markets in this area. The firm already has branches in Lebanon and Syria, and has now expanded to Jordan,” Naasan concluded. Founded in 1984, EFG-Hermes is one of the premier investment banks in the Middle East and is recognized as the regional market leader in securities brokerage, asset management, investment banking, private equity, and research. The firm is listed on the Egyptian and London stock exchanges and has had a market capitalization exceeding $ 3.5 billion.
