Zawya, a Dubai-based online business and investment opportunity platform focusing on the Middle East, and New York-based Ipreo, a global provider of deal execution software and capital markets analytics, have partnered to offer a solution for buyside and sellside professionals within the Sukuk and IPO markets.
The combined offering will be a single integrated platform to provide intelligence in the market, enabling buyside professionals to make real-time decisions whilst giving sellside professionals tools to originate, market and distribute Sukuks and IPOs to the investment community.
The joint offering will consist of end-to-end solutions that support the marketing and execution of Sukuk and IPO issuance. Services will include, market news and information to support deal origination & structuring, institutional contact data and event management software for marketing deals and comprehensive web-based bookbuilding software for executing both debt and equity issues.
Jean Marc Paufique, SVP and head of the investment opportunities division at Zawya, said: “There is an acute need for transparency from the buyside and an improved sales efficiency for the sellside. This is especially true given the recent instability in the debt market across the region.
On one hand, the buyside has become more meticulous when choosing where to invest; gaining as much intelligence on a Sukuk’s underlying asset, for example, is key. On the other hand, the sellside is keen to understand the specifics of deal executions, how to structure their products, and what the buyside actually needs. By connecting them online in a cost-effective manner, the industry benefits and is poised for better deal flow and liquidity.”
Allen Williams, EVP and MD of global capital markets at Ipreo, said: “In recent years, Ipreo has been steadily increasing its operations and resources dedicated to servicing firms in the Middle East. This partnership with Zawya represents an opportunity to combine best-of-breed technology and intelligence into a solution not previously available in this region, at a time when it needs it most. We are looking forward to having a positive impact on the new issuance market here.”
Integration is currently underway, and the full suite of services is expected to be available in January of 2010.
