Saudi Arabia Hanco Consortium Buys Rental Firm Byrne

Saudi Arabia’s Hanco and Bahrain’s Venture Capital Bank have bought Byrne Investments for around Dhs600 million ($163.35 million), the Riyadh-based car rental company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hanco has acquired 75 per cent of Byrne, an equipment leasing firm, and Venture Capital Bank the remaining 25 per cent.

Havenvest Private Equity Middle East and HSBC Bank Middle East were the sellers.

Byrne says it is the largest company of its kind in the Middle East with 450 employees and 13 offices across the Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

It rents out items including office and storage buildings, generators, welding machines and workshops, according to its website.

“Following the transaction we aim to be the leader in the GCC for rental and lease of mechanical assets with a combined asset base of close to 30,000 units,” Hamad al-Sulaiman, Hanco’s chief executive, said in the statement.

Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank partly financed the deal, according to the statement, while GIB Capital, a Saudi-based subsidiary of Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank (GIB), and law firm Baker & McKenzie advised Hanco on the transaction.

Hanco, whose main business interests include leasing and car rental, has a fleet of more than 20,000 vehicles, the statement added.