KUWAIT, 30 September 2006 — Teshkeel Media Group, KSC (TMG) said that a comprehensive agreement with Unicorn Investment Bank (UIB) had been reached to advise and lead a second phase of capital raising. UIB Managing Director and CEO Majid Al-Sayed Bader Al-Refai and TMG CEO Naif Al-Mutawa jointly announced the agreement on Wednesday.
UIB will underwrite and assist TMG in the raising of $25 million for the offering. TMG’s current investor base includes large GCC institutions — the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Bayan Investment Company, Safat Investment Company, Al-Aswak Company and retail group MH Shaya Company — as well as a consortium of private investors from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, China, Mexico and the United States.
Headquartered in Kuwait, TMG develops and publishes comics and other children’s entertainment for the Arab speaking world. They are the exclusive Arabic translation partners of Marvel Entertainment, Archie Comics and DC Comics for the Middle East and North Africa and have developed and launched their own award-winning series, “The 99,” incorporating the world’s first group of superheroes based on Islamic culture. Stories are woven around 99 characters endowed with Islamic traits, with each character personifying a particular Islamic attribute. The series has received critical acclaim from the international media including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian.
Yasser Abbady, director of corporate finance at UIB, said, “TMG has identified and successfully developed a unique content for the young, highlighting Islam’s rich culture and heritage. With a substantial proportion of the region’s population under the age of fifteen, TMG’s management vision coupled with their award-winning concept of “The 99” makes this a very attractive investment indeed.”
