M1 Group
M1 group is a diversified investment holdings group based in Beirut, Lebanon. Its current CEO is Azmi Mikati.[1]
Origin
The business was created forty years ago by Taha Mikati and Najib Mikati, the latter of whom became Prime Minister of Lebanon in 2005, and again in 2011. It began in the construction sector. During the 1980s it expanded into telecommunications and formed the basis of their flagship company Investcom which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and that of Dubai. In 2005, Investcom employed more than 5000 people with a presence in twelve countries across three continents. Its gross earnings reached $660 million. When floated on the stock exchange on 6 October 2005, it had a market capitalization of $3.3 billion and was among the largest companies in the middle east.
In June 2006, the South African company MTN bought Investcom for $5.5 billion,[2] thereby becoming the first mobile phone corporation for the middle eastern market.
In 2007, the Mikati brothers founded M1 group, which now comprises ten companies at least:
- M1 limited, which holds a 10% stake in MTN
- M1 Real Estate based in Monaco which owns real estate assets in Europe, the United States and the Middle East[3]
- M1 Commercial Jets (M1CJ) which leases commercial aircraft and now operates as a subsidiary of Jetscape
- M1 Retail Concepts Lebanon that operates retail stores in Beirut[4]
- M1 Travel is the largest shareholder of the Swiss airline Baboo, based in Geneva
- M1 Fashion which owns several clothing brands including Façonnable, Pepe jeans and Hackett London[5][6]
- M1 Energy, with interests in the Avante Petroleum oil company based in Luxembourg
- M1 Capital, which manages the group's financial assets
- Emerge distributions that distributes Façonnable and Victorinox in the MENA region
- M1 Industries is in the consumer goods market with holdings in Dairiday dairy brand and the UK supermarket chain J Sainsbury.
In February 2010 M1 Group acquired 50% of the EFG-Hermes stake in the Lebanese Bank Audi, the largest bank in the country, for $450 million.
References
- ↑ "M1 Group". Mbendi.com. 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ The World's Billionaires: #446, Najib Mikati, Forbes, published 5 March 2008, retrieved 7 July 2011
- ↑ Lebanese investors buy Credit Suisse’s Canary Wharf office, Property Week, published 7 August 2009, retrieved 7 July 2011
- ↑ "M1 Retail Concepts Lebanon S.A.L opens The White Company at Beirut City Centre". Web-Release.info. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ (French) Façonnable rachetée par M1 Group, Franchise Magazine.com, published 27 July 2007, retrieved 15 July 2011
- ↑ "Pepe Jeans passes to M1 Group and L Capital Asia". Sportswearnet.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.