Merchant Bridge and Co. Ltd

MerchantBridge

The merchant bank MerchantBridge and Co. Ltd describes itself as 'the bridge between the Middle-east and the World Financial Markets', its senior advisors include Baroness Chalker, Lord Lamont (British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Benador Associates[1] Chairman of Le Cercle, Lord Denman (Consolidated Goldfields and The Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism) and Andrew Buxton [2] the former chairman of Barclays Bank. [3]

Since 1988 MerchantBridge — which operates in the 'MENA' (Middle East North African) region has been the advisor to British Government of the Offset Programme [4] which is part of the notorious Al Yamamah ('the Dove') Programme, a supposed £1 billion economic investment agreement in Saudi Arabia, part of the UK Ministry of Defence's Saudi Armed Forces Project — the staff includes a number of secondees from BAe Systems. [5] [6]

The "Offsets" require that 30% of the value of the imported components of Al Yamamah be reinvested in commercially-viable businesses in the Saudi Arabia. British Aerospace and Thomson-CSF are the main U.K. firms involved, with the key U.S. participants: Lucent Technologies (formerly AT&T), Boeing, General Electric, General Dynamics, United Technologies, Hughes Aircraft Company, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Smith Industries. [7]

The company say they provide "Knowledge and access to key decision makers in Washington and Iraq." [8] The London office is run by Basil Al-Rahim, Managing Director and CEO of Safron Advisors, (Merchant Bridge's previous name) which he founded in in partnership with a number of large institutional investors. Prior to that he was based in Washington D.C. where he was managing director of the [Carlyle Group]. [9] [10] which had become the gatekeeper to foreign investing in Saudi Arabia through running the Saudi Economic Offset Program. [11]

"Carlyle had a relationship with the bin Ladens that began in the early 1990s, when they tried to put together a deal for the Italian Petroleum (IP) company. At the time, Basil Al Rahim, a young Carlyle associate, was travelling from Saudi Arabia to Amman to Bahrain, to United Arab Emirates, drumming up support for Carlyle's forthcoming international funds. One of the clients that Al Rahim helped secure was the bin Laden family, which owned a $5 billion construction business by the name of Saudi Binladin Group." [12]

Al-Rahim was also the co-founder (in 1991) with Rend Rahim Francke of The Iraq Foundation [13] [14] [15] which promotes Al-Rahim's neo-liberal agenda for rebuilding Iraq, the "Phoenix Plan," [16] and is funded by the The National Endowment for Democracy [17]

Al-Rahim was the joint founding managing director of MerchantBridge together with the late Colin Craig OBE. Craig started in 1963 at Conservative Central Office, as a personal assistant to the party chairman, Viscount Blakenham, and his successor, Edward du Cann. He went on to work at the newly-founded Opinion Research Centre. In 1974 he moved to the merchant bank Guinness Peat. In 1995 he was appointed head of Middle East business at Robert Fleming & Co, where he developed investment banking operations through offices in Bahrain, Beirut and Cairo. After the acquisition of Flemings by Chase Manhattan, Craig's team joined Close Brothers, taking much of their existing business with them. Finally, in 2002, he established MerchantBridge. [18]

MerchantBridge was recently appointed Lead Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals for their Lease of Industrial Factories Programme, [19]and has has launched an 'Iraq Construction Materials Fund' to capitalise on this.

"The first tranche of US$20 million has been raised from cross-border investors for a new US$ 50 million, 5-year, direct investment fund to finance manufacturers and suppliers of construction materials in Iraq. The fund will invest in sub-sectors where strong demand is expected but supplies are limited or uneconomical to import. Four such projects have been launched immediately: Ready Mixed Concrete, Industrial Paint & Coatings, Engineered Steel Structures & Fabrication, and Plastic Pipes." [20]

And it has recently purchased a substantial strategic equity interest in the prestigious (i.e. secretive) Swiss Bank Bank Frey & Co. AG in Zurich. [21]

MerchantBridge's management team includes:

Eric le Blan: 25 years banking experience advising public sector bodies on their international debt and developing domestic capital markets, including Warburgs (now UBS) and Saudi International Bank. Currently involved with MerchantBridge projects in Iraq advising the Ministry of Industry & Minerals.

Dimitri Casvigny: Previously Senior Vice-President, investment banking division of Bear Stearns in London in charge of telecom and media as well as working on transport and industrial sectors. Also worked for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, BNP Paribas in the emerging market department in London and CCF in Paris (now part of HSBC).

Tim Holder: 17 years experience in corporate and project finance and has been involved in a number of significant deals in the region. Tim set up the Bahrain office of Close Brothers in 2000, and earlier worked for Flemings and Schroders for 10 years advising the UK Ministry of Defence on the Saudi Offset Programme. Before that Holder worked for PriceWaterhouse.

Abdallah Lahoud: Previously with Safron and with the research department of Bank Audi in Lebanon. He is experienced in negotiations, and the process of sale and purchase of companies including all legal documentation.

Samir Arab, Marketing and Placement: Over 16 years of Private Banking experience. Former Global Country Manager and Senior Officer in charge of Saudi Arabia at Chase Manhattan Private Bank (London) Arab also set up a multi-family wealth management office to advise a large Middle Eastern conglomerate. Prior to working for Chase, Arab was head of Marketing and acting head of Private Banking at Riyadh Bank Europe covering Saudi clients. [22] [23]

Notes

The Arabian Connection: The UK Arms Trade to Saudi Arabia, Written and researched for CAAT by Chrissie Hirst includes detail on the Al Yamamah deal. [24]