Gulf Capital acquires majority stake in the CWB Group
Gulf Capital has acquired a significant majority stake in CWB Group, an intellectual property services provider across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Founded in 2006, CWB provides patent and trademark services including counselling, clearing, filing, prosecution, maintenance and enforcement services to Fortune 500 companies across the MENA region. CWB’s service offering also extends to anti-counterfeiting and commercialisation of IP. CWB works with its clients to conceive and execute strategic solutions to manage, protect and enforce their intellectual property (IP) through its seven offices and member firms in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Dr Karim El Solh, chief executive officer of Gulf Capital said, ”The CWB Group is a leader in the registration, protection and administration of intellectual property in the Middle East. We are delighted to partner with the experienced management team at CWB to pursue an ambitious growth plan for the firm. The MENA, Africa and CIS intellectual property services market is estimated at over $350 million annually and is expected to grow at about 6% per annum over the next five years. CWB’s quality of service is unrivalled in the MENA region, a reputation which has helped the firm gain market share as well as attract and retain some of the world’s largest brand owners. CWB is very well positioned to continue its strong growth momentum and to expand across emerging markets.”
Halim Shehadeh, chief executive officer and founder of the CWB Group said, ”We are excited to embark on this new chapter in CWB’s journey alongside Gulf Capital, an investment firm with like-minded individuals and with deep experience taking regional firms global. The intellectual property protection and services area is ever more important and complex, and at CWB we have built a solid reputation protecting our clients’ interests across the Middle East. We intend to expand rapidly into new geographies while leveraging our new partner’s experience in building global platforms out of the GCC. Our partnership with Gulf Capital is a major step towards reaching our goal of becoming the leading provider of IP services in emerging markets as we expand across new geographies, take on talented people, invest in new technologies and broaden our service offerings.”
Mohammad Madani, managing director at Gulf Capital added, ”Gulf Capital has been studying the intellectual property space for two years, and has identified CWB as the premier IP service provider in the MENA region. The firm has distinguished itself by helping clients to protect and manage their intellectual property across the Middle East and by delivering better business value. We look forward to working with Halim Shehadeh and his team on launching new services, leveraging new technologies and expanding CWB across emerging markets.”
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