Kuwaiti business woman invests in sports chain


Global Investment House, owned by Kuwaiti businesswomen Maha Al-Ghunaim, has quadrupled its investments in Turkey and became a partner to the sports chain SPX. At 94th on Forbes listing of the 100 Most Powerful Women, Al-Ghunaim is known as the First Lady of the Gulf Economy, who purchased the majority shares of SPX, which sells outdoor sports wear and materials. The operation took place through the asset unit Global Capital Management - GMFA fund - of the Global Investment house. SPX, established by former local volleyball player and retired Marine Officer, Güven Olgar, in 1989, has 23 stores and six Quicksilver sales points. It also has an online sales network and acts as the representative and distributor of 30 global brands including Salomon, Merrell, Quicksilver, Billabong, Babolat, Rossignol and Burton. Moreover, its domestic market volume is more than $1 billion. One of the Managing Partners of Global Capital Management, Sulaiman Al-Rubaie, announced that this was the fourth investment in Turkey after TAV, Bıçakçılar and Yargıcı. "We are gradually increasing our investments in this growing market," Al-Rubaie said. The managing partner of the mediator company, Pragma Danışmanlık said they have signed eight purchasing deals in 2014 and three within the first three months of this year.