GB Auto (AUTO.CA), a leading automotive assembler and distributor in the Middle East and North Africa, announced in a press release on Thursday that the company will remain committed in its efforts to expand into new lines of businesses and new markets.
The statement comes on the heels of the company’s new entry into the lubricants sector, pre-owned vehicles and retail business just months after moving into Libya and Algeria, a marked expansion outside its traditional base of Egypt and Iraq.
“GB Auto is seeking additional strategic expansion opportunities in the region in order to mitigate risk by diversifying in terms of both geographical footprint and lines of business”, said Osman Sever, GB Auto’s Head of Business Development.
He added that the company is exploring new investment opportunities both in Egypt and abroad as a means of achieving maximum returns for its shareholders and becoming an engine of economic growth and development in Egypt and the region.
GB Auto is currently exploring alternatives to access finance to support these new investments, either through raising equity, debt or both. The company is expected to announce its final decision on financing the new investments within a month at which time it will be discussed at a board level to decide about these opportunities and the best financing alternatives. The expected economic returns from these investments make the company confident about its ability to finance the expansion plans through capital increase, debt or both.
Raouf Ghabbour, Chairman and CEO of GB Auto, expressed his complete confidence in the company’s efforts to diversify its activities and expand into new markets, adding that there is a direct correlation between these ambitious growth plans and the advent of new investors in the company, which include prominent Gulf and International institutions.
