Vehicle: The ABRAAJ Buyout Fund L.P. 
Website: www.maktoob.com 
Country: Jordan 
Sector: Internet Services
Acquisition Date: January 2005
Transaction Size: US$ 5.2 million
Stake: 40%
Equity: US$ 5.2 million
Status: Unrealized

Company Profile: Maktoob was founded in October 1998 by Samih Toukan and Hussam Khoury as a spin-off of their prior consulting firm. It is an internet portal based in Amman. The company provides a variety of free online services to its users including web-based E-mail, chat rooms, an information portal and other services including prepaid online payment cards (CashU), online auctions. It provides additional “premium” services for paying clients and has recently launched its e-commerce services through souq.com.
Investment Rationale: The company has a first mover advantage in an attractive market (Arabic/English OSP) with a dominant online payment option and a strong brand name. It has established the first Arab online auction site souq.com which will benefit from leveraging the large community network
 
Acquisition Structure: Capital Injection of US$ 5.2 million into the company, 100% financed by equity.

Post Acquisition Strategy: To capture at least 10% of the region’s growing online advertising expenditures and establish CashU as a dominant brand name in the Arab world for online payments as well as establish souq.com as the leading Arab e-commerce portal.