Dubai’s Sokotra Capital Acquires Tunisian Fish Farm L’Aquaculture Tunisienne

Dubai investment firm Sokotra Capital has led a consortium of buyers to acquire the Tunisian fish farm operator L’Aquaculture Tunisienne for an undisclosed amount.

Serving both the local and export market, L’Aquaculture Tunisienne is the largest seabass and seabream hatchery and nursery in North Africa, with a current annual production capacity of 20 million fingerlings and 1,500 tons of fish per year, the companies said in a statement. The firm was founded in 1988 by Si M’hamed Driss, and is based in Sousse. 

Now backed by new owners, L’Aquaculture Tunisienne has designs on becoming one of the leading aquaculture companies in the Mediterranean, according to the firm’s CEO Karim Garnaoui.

Sokotra Capital is a private investment company founded by former UBS banker Albert Momdjian in 2014. The deal comes as part of Sokotra Capital’s strategy of targeting investments in the agriculture and aquaculture sectors in both Africa and Southeast Asia—and the firm’s acquisition in Tunisia could mark the first of multiple moves in the country.

“It is all about efficiency and about feeding the growing population. The protein race has already started and we are very well positioned as a firm and as a team to benefit from it,” said Momdjian, who serves as Sokotra Capital’s CEO. “Tunisia remains, and despite the recent challenges, a very attractive and friendly destination for foreign direct investments.”

Sokotra Capital also targets investments in food manufacturing, processing and retail, as well as hospitality, leisure and retail.

TunisianMonitorOnline (Forbes Middle East)

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