Mumtalakat acquires equity stake in Gulf Cryo

Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the investment arm of Bahrain, says it has acquired a minority equity stake in Gulf Cryo, a major regional manufacturer, distributor and service provider of industrial gases based in Kuwait.
Mumtalakat will join Gulf Cryo’s shareholder group, which includes Amer Huneidi and other members of the Huneidi family, and Investcorp.
deNovo Corporate Advisors (deNovo) acted as the financial adviser in this transaction to the majority shareholders in the company.
Founded in 1953 as the Kuwait Oxygen and Acetylene Company, Gulf Cryo produces and supplies industrial, medical and specialty gases.
Gulf Cryo was the first gas manufacturer in Kuwait to provide industrial gases such as oxygen and nitrogen to the booming local petroleum industry.
During the 1970’s, the company expanded into the UAE, with the formation of the Arabian Industrial Gases Company in Sharjah.
Today, Gulf Cryo oversees a network of over 30 production and distribution sites operating in 12 countries, including the GCC countries, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and Austria, and is supported by a team of 1,000 professionals.
Gulf Cryo's capabilities include a considerable pipeline distribution network, the largest merchant air separation production capacity in the region as well as an extensive network of facilities manufacturing and distributing oxygen, nitrogen, acetylene, carbon dioxide, dry ice, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, food-grade, specialty and medical gases.
Mahmood Hashim Al-Kooheji, CEO of Mumtalakat, said: “This acquisition marks our fourth investment in the industrial sector in recent months and is a reflection of our continued efforts to grow and diversify our business portfolio. These investments will help further diversify the Kingdom’s industrial base.”
Amer Al-Huneidi, chairman of Gulf Cryo, said: “With its considerable funding expertise and influential connections in Bahrain and the wider GCC, we are confident that Mumtalakat will help support Gulf Cryo’s investment plans in the coming years.