Emirates Investment Bank : advises on the sale of Country Hill International

Dubai, UAE; 31 May 2018: Emirates Investment Bank ('EIBank'), an independent private bank based in the UAE (DFM: EIBank), announced today that it has advised on the sale of Country Hill International ('CHI'), a leading premium meat import wholesaler/supplier in the UAE, to the Gulf Japan Food Fund ('GJFF'), owned by investors including Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and The Norinchukin Bank. Baker McKenzie was the legal adviser to CHI on the deal. Khaled Sifri, CEO of Emirates Investment Bank, said, 'This transaction marks another achievement for our investment banking team in the F&B sector. Emirates Investment Bank's experience and knowledge of the UAE market, together with the capabilities and skills of our team, continue to give us the edge we need to identify the right opportunities for our clients. We are currently involved in a number of transactions across the GCC, particularly in the healthcare, education and F&B sectors - all fast growing in the region. As this momentum continues to build, we look forward to seeing more value-adding deals come to fruition in the coming period.' Founded in the UAE in 1999, CHI is a meat wholesale company that specialises in importing meat products from New Zealand and Australia and distributing them to high-end hotels, restaurants, cafés and major supermarket chains in the UAE and Oman. In addition, CHI operates retail stores through its subsidiary company, 'Prime Gourmet', serving upmarket retail customers directly. GJFF is a private equity fund set up to promote the export of Japan's agricultural and fisheries products, and related production and operation technology. Fund stakeholders on the Japanese side, apart from Mizuho Bank and Norinchukin Bank, also include the Cool Japan Fund, a public/private fund. Together with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, all these organizations have collectively committed USD 390 million. The Fund began its investment operations on 3 March, 2016.