EFG Hermes has cemented itself as one the leading financial services firms in the region by consistently delivering on its promise to provide clients with a full spectrum of unique financial service offerings. The Group offers a diverse and attractive array of investment opportunities for a wide variety of risk appetites across a multitude of sectors by capitalizing on the strength of its operations and strategic partnerships in FEMs. Our Buy-Side platform, which is composed of award-winning Asset Management and Private Equity divisions, has benefited greatly from the strength of the Firm’s varied service offering, allowing us to cement our position as one of the leading investment Firm’s in our constantly growing footprint.
The three verticals under our Private Equity divisions have seen both successful investments and exits in 2019. It’s been a milestone year for our renewable energy platform Vortex Energy, with the divestment process of Vortex I and Vortex II (Vortex Wind), which together held a 49% stake in a 998 MW pan-European portfolio, hitting financial close at the end of March 2019. The successful divestment is proof positive of our commitment to structuring a portfolio of investment opportunities founded on our ability to identify, acquire, manage, and divest in assets to generate accretive returns for investors irrespective of geopolitical conditions. Building on this commitment, Vortex Energy will continue to scout potential portfolio expansion opportunities in the Americas for investments in the energy sector that can provide alpha for investors.
Our second milestone of the year came courtesy of Rx Healthcare Management, where we were able to capitalize on attractive market conditions given Egypt’s longstanding position as the largest producer and consumer of pharmaceuticals in the Middle East and Africa. The team successfully acquired a medical solutions provider, United Pharma, though a special purpose vehicle, Nutritius Investment Holdings. A landmark acquisition for the team, United Pharma represents the firm’s first investment in Egypt’s pharmaceutical space, providing a solid steppingstone for securing future investments across the value chain within this space in Egypt and the region.
EFG Hermes’ Egypt Education Fund continues to be the largest Egypt-focused fund to be floated in over a decade, and the team has worked to continually expand the fund’s portfolio in 2019. In June, the division saw the successful second close of the fund, with commitments of USD 24 million and in August it signed an agreement to establish an international school that can accommodate over 1,400 students in Rehab City. Toward the end of the year, the platform acquired Option Travel, a key player in the transport space that will not only provide ancillary services to the platform but act as a steppingstone to providing services across the education value chain. Under Option Travel, we plan to launch a first of its kind, fully dedicated K-12 school bus network in Egypt with international health and safety standards.
Despite unfavorable macroeconomic conditions in Egypt, our Asset Management unit continued to deliver positive results, establishing new financial products and maintaining its position as the go-to asset management house in the region. The division achieved a total AUM of USD 1.5 billion in the region and EGP 16.3 billion in Egypt AUM. We continued to deliver diversified products that meet the ever-changing appetites of the financial community, launching the new FIM Global Sukuk Fund in early 2019. The successful efforts of the credit team in strategically marketing the fund in the region allowed it to generate returns of 10% and to spearhead the pack within its respective benchmarks, solidifying our ability to identify, structure,
and deliver successful financial products.